II  i 


hi    iiii  i 


iiiiii 


III! 


Cf*     •*•••«€"''''«•' 


Jrmny  'I  J.lnjr^-^rrfJrh'j'- 


r.T-t    T'y  I.  STfi^la-sn 


Goiili  "V.  ijncclu-.-P  pMi' 


DR.    GRANT 


AND    THE 


MOUNTAIN  NESTORUffS 


REV.   THOMAS   LAURIE, 

CRVIVING    ASSOCIATE     IN     THAT    MISSION. 


"  What  mean  ye  to  weep  and  to  break  my  heart ;  for  I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound  only, 
but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  —  Acts  21 :  13. 


PORTRAIT,  MAP  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  ILLUSTRATIONS,  ETC. 


BOSTON: 
OOULD     AND     LINCOLN 

59    WASHINGTON    STREET. 

1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

GOULD    &    LINCOLN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts, 


•  .  *  • 


stereotyped    ti  y 

HOBART    k  BOBBINS, 

BOSTON. 

PRmTKP    BY    GEO.    C.    RAND,    CORNHILI*. 


MISSIONARIES   OF   CHRIST 

IN  WESTERN  ASIA 

ARE   AFFECTIONATELT   DEDICATED, 

BY    ONE   EVER    GRATEFUL   FOR   THE   YEARS    HE    SPENT   AMONG   THEM,   AND 

REJOICING   THUS    TO    LABOR    WITH   THEM    STILL   IN    A    CAUSE 

HE   CAN   NEVER   CEASE   TO    LOVE. 


-     1-^  r-x».'  iKi,  \J  '-_? 


NOTE. 
In  the  Oriental  names  that  occur  in  the  following  pages, 
i  has  generally  the  sound  of  ee,  as  in  Ashitha  and  Serspidbo. 
u  has  uniformly  the  sound  of  oo. 
aa  represents  the  Arabic  Ay  in,  as  in  Baad  ;  and 
kh  stands  for  the  rough,  guttural  h  of  the  Shemitish  languages. 
oo  sometimes  occurs  instead  of  u,  partly  through  inadvertence,  but  mostly  in  deference 
to  others  who  have  estabUshed  the  orthography  of  such  names  as  Yoosuf,  Oroomiah,  &c_ 
The  pronunciation  of  the  last  is  Urmy,  both  in  Mosul  and  Tyary. 

It  any  complain  of  the  various  modes  in  which  different  writers  spell  the  same  names, 
they  are  referred  to  Mr.  Layard,  who  justly  observes,  in  a  note  page  370,  of  his  "Babylon 
and  Nineveh,"  —  "The  difficulty  of  getting  a  correct  name,  either  of  a  person  or  place,  in 
Kurdistm,  is  very  great.  The  same  name  is  pronounced  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  is  sub- 
ject to  all  manner  of  additions  and  contractions,  so  that  travellers  can  scarcely  avoid  falling 
into  frequent  errors." 


PREFACE 


Every  one  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  must  have  noticed  how  few 
memoirs  we  have  of  its  missionaries.  Out  of  more  than  one  thou- 
sand laborers  whom  it  has  sent  into  the  field  during  a  period  of 
more  than  forty  years,  many  of  whom  have  passed  away  to  their  final 
reward,  there  are,  setting  aside  some  excellent  biographies  of  mis- 
sionary women,  extended  notices  of  but  six,  —  namely,  Levi  Parsons, 
Pliny  Fisk,  Gordon  Hall,  David  Abeel,  Samuel  Munson  and  Henry 
Lyman,  —  while  of  its  many  excellent  missionary-physicians  we 
have  not  a  single  biography. 

That  this  want  has  been  felt,  at  least  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Grant, 
appears  from  the  small  memoir  published  in  1847.  Of  this  work  — 
very  excellent  so  far  as  it  went  —  the  writer  would  say,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Dr.  Perkins,  "  The  imperfect  memoir  which  appeared  a  few 
years  ago  only  made  me  more  anxious  that  a  more  full  and  suitable 
record  of  his  eminent  worth,  devoted  life,  and  arduous  labors,  should 
be  given  to  the  world."  But,  desirous  as  he  was  that  this  should  be 
done,  he  would  never  have  thought  of  doing  it  himself,  but  for  a 
request  from  Mr.  S.  H.  Grant  to  prepare  a  brief  memorial  of  his 
father.  The  vain  effort  to  compress  the  subject  into  the  few  pages 
allowed  him  at  that  time  led  him  to  arrange  the  facts  with  which  he 
was  familiar,  that  so  much  valuable  material  might  not  be  lost ;  and 


Vl  PREFACE. 

the  result  of  a  year's  labor,  during  the  intervals  of  more  pressing 
duties,  now  lies  before  the  reader. 

It  has  been  pleasant  to  the  writer  to  live  over  again  the  happy 
hours  once  spent  with  those  now,  as  we  trust,  before  the  throne,  and 
trace  out  the  results  of  their  afflictions,  not  only  in  their  own  ineet- 
ness  for  heaven,  but  also  in  the  blessings  still  descending  on  the 
scene  of  their  sufferings. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  work,  many  letters  have  been  quoted 
only  in  part,  and  the  journals  of  Dr.  Grant  have  been  much  abbre- 
viated ;  but,  as  he  expressed  a  regret  that  his  writings  were  so  verbose, 
and  intended,  in  case  he  published  again,  to  subject  every  sentence 
to  the  most  rigid  condensation,  it  was  felt  to  be  a  sacred  duty  to 
carry  out  his  wishes  iu  the  manner  which  would  have  been  most 
agreeable  to  him  were  he  still  alive. 

The  map  has  been  prepared  mostly  from  original  materials  col- 
lected by  Dr.  Grant  and  his  associates.  That  by  Mr.  Layard  has 
also  been  consulted.  Great  pains  have  been  taken,  and  no  expense 
spu-ired,  to  render  it  an  important  addition  to  our  geographical 
knowledge  of  that  region. 

In  conclusion,  the  writer  would  express  his  obligations  to  the 
former  associates  of  Dr.  Grant  in  Oroomiah,  for  the  letters  they  have 
kindly  furnished  him  ;  to  his  eldest  son,  and  also  to  the  widow  and 
brother  of  Dr.  A.  Smith,  for  similar  favors  ;  to  Dr.  Anderson,  for 
the  free  access  lie  has  granted  to  the  library  of  the  Board  and 
importiint  manuscripts  ;  and  gladly  would  he  make  more  specific 
mention  of  those  friends  to  whose  judicious  suggestions  the  work  is 
indebted  for  valuable  corrections  and  improvements. 

West  Roxbury,  May,  1853. 


ITi^t  cf  |Uttstrati0its. 


I.  PORTRAIT  or  DR.   GRANT,  (Frontispiece). 

The  portrait  is  copied  from  a  very  correct  daguerreotype  likeness, 
taken  in  1841  ;  and  the  autograpfi'  was  penned  during  his  last  sick- 
ness, at  the  close  of  the  last  letter  he  ever  wrote.  —  (See  p.  394.) 

II.  MAP  OF  THE  NESTORIAN  COUNTRY  AND  REGION  ADJACENT. 

III.  VIEW  OF  TREBIZONI), 40 

This  is  a  walled  city,  though  the  wall  does  not  appear  in  the  view. 
'  The  residences  of  the  Missionaries  are  on  the  rising  ground,  just  above 
the  consulates,  which  may  be  distinguished  by  the  flags.  The  road  to 
Erzrum  lies  up  the  valley  to  the  right.  High  mountains  rise  all 
around  behind  the  hill  represented  in  the  engraving,  appearing  to  the 
traveller,  as  he  approaches  from  the  sea,  like  a  lofty  wall,  enclosing 
the  paradise  below.  Their  snowy  summits  are,  for  the  most  part, 
wrapped  in  clouds. 

IV.  VIEW  OF  ERZRUir, '■ l,j 

In  the  foreground  appears  a  Bazaar,  with  tradei's  seated  here  and 
there  in  the  Dikkans.  The  columns  at  the  end  of  the  street  are  the 
minarets  of  an  ancient  mosque,  and  conti-ast  favorably  with  the 
clumsier  modern  structures  of  the  same  kind  round  about.  The  pyr- 
amid behind  the  wall  to  the  right  is  a  mausoleum,  in  the  style  of  the 
tomb  of  Caius  Cestius,  at  Rome,  such  as  is  often  seen  in  the  ancient 
cities  of  Asia  Minor. 

V.  YEZIDEES, 120 

This  is  the  dress  generally  worn  in  their  villages  near  Mosul. 

VI.  THE  ZAB  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 142 

This  is  a  view  of  the  river  between  Bedyalatha  and  the  Berzawa,  as 
described  on  p.  143. 

VII.  BRIDGE  IN  TYARY, 252 

The  weight  of  the  centre-piece,  in  one  instance,  as  measured  by  Dr. 
Smith,  about  ninety  feet  from  pier  to  pier,  is  balanced  by  stones,  piled 


VIH  LIST    or    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

on  the  opposite  ends  i)f  the  pieces  nearest  the  shore,  as  seen  on  the  left. 
The  passage  of  such  structures  is  diflficult,  at  the  best  ;  and  we  need 
not  wonder  that  Dr.  Grant  was  obliged  to  cross  one  in  the  manner 
described  on  p.  264,  when  it  was  old  and  out  of  repair. 

VIII.  SPECIMENS  OF  SYRIAC  WRITING,     267 

The  cipher  above  the  two  lines  is  used  at  the  beginning  of  every  let- 
ter or  document,  and  consists  of  the  name  of  God,  as  it  occurs  in  Ps. 
68  :  4,  with  a  symbol  of  the  Trinity  over  it. 

IX.  THE  SEAL  OF  MAR  SHIMON  (actual  size), 267 

This  is  impressed  in  ink,  just  as  here  represented.  The  curious  in 
such  matters  may  find  in  it  no  less  than  thirteen  crosses. 

X.  ANCIENT  SEAL  FROM  NINEVEH, 290 

This  was  purchased.by  M.  Botta  from  an  Arab,  who  found  it  on  the 
surface  of  an  ancient  mound,  after  a  rain. 

XL  NESTORIANS  FROM  JELU, 302 

This  is  the  general  dress  of  the  mountaineers,  though  in  Tyary  they 
wear  a  conical  hat,  and  another  coat  without  sleeves  is  often  worn 
over  the  dress  "here  represented.  As  to  the  ability  of  the  women  to 
carry  burdens,  see  p.  147. 

Xn.  HOrSE  IN  TYARY, ^lo 

The  men  in  the  foreground  wear  the  hat  referred  to  p.  336.  The 
house  is  one  of  the  better  class.  In  winter  the  lower  story  is  used, 
and  in  summer  the  upper  one  is  not  too  open  for  comfort.  The  walls 
are  adorned  with  the  horns  of  the  mountain  goat. 

Xin.  MOSUL,  AS  SEEN  FROM  NINEVEH, 3^2 

The  mound  and  village  of  Nebbi  Tuniis  are  directly  in  front.  The 
low  mounds  extending  thence  to  the  right  are  the  remains  of  a  part 
of  the  wall  of  Nineveh.  The  extreme  south-east  corner  of  Koyunjik 
is  just  visible  in  the  edge  of  the  plate. 

On  the  left  of  the  village,  the  Serai  (or  palace,  — it  comprises  the 
barracks  also)  rises  on  the  bank  of  the  Tigris,  below  the  city.  The 
bridge  is  hidden  by  the  mosque  of  Nebbi  Yunus,  and  directly  ovev 
the  latter  rises  the  highest  minaret  in  Mosul.  It  is  built  of  brick,  and 
belongs  to  a  mosque,  which  was  once  a  Christian  church.  It  leaus 
a  little  to  one  side,  and  is  the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  city. 
The  house  occupied  by  Dr.  Grant,  and  afterwards  by  Mr.  Layard, 
stands  on  the  high  ground  seen  leyond  Nebbi  Yiiniis  to  the  right.  In 
the  foreground,  cattle  are  loaded,  as  described  on  p.  234, 


Cantentia. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PABENTAGE EABLY     LIFE HOME     TRAINING EDUCATION MARRIAGE 

BRAINTRIM CHRISTIAN   ACTIVITY BEREAVEMENT UTICA USE- 
FULNESS   THERE, 13 


CHAPTER   II. 

DECISION    TO     BE    A     MISSIONARY LETTERS MISSIONARY     TRAINING    OP 

MBS.    J.    S.    G. SECOND    MARRIAGE EMBARKATION, 24 


CHAPTER  III. 

SMYRNA CONSTANTINOPLE VOYAGE   TO  TREBIZOND  —  JOURNEY   TO    PER- 
SIA  MEETING  WITH   MR.  PERKINS PASS    OF  DAHAR FORTIFIED  CAMP 

TABRIZ, 36 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE     NESTORIANS  —  ORIGIN     OF     THEIR     CHURCH EABLY     HISTORY     AND 

MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE LATER    HISTORY DR.    GRANT'S    THEORY    OP 

THEIR   JEWISH   ORIGIN, 47 


CHAPTER  V. 

ABBIVAL   AT    OBOOMIAH  —  MISSIONARY    PHYSICIANS CHOLERA LABORS 

AND   LETTERS   OF  DB.    GBANT  —  LOOTEE  —  LABOBS   OF   MBS.    QBANT,      59 


CHAPTER  VI. 

INTEREST    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS CORRESPONDENCE    WITH    COL.    S'HEIL    AND 

DB.   BIACH  —  SCHULTZ FAILURE   OF   HEALTH  —  DEATH    OF   MRS.    GBANT 

POLITICS   OF   KUBDISTAN, 87 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

JOUHNEY   to    MESOPOTAMIA  AND   ASSYRIA S ALMAS  —  DISAPPOINTMENT  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE  ERZRUM DIARBEKR     AND     ANARCHY MARDIN  — 

SICKNESS MOBS,  AND    NARROW  ESCAPE MOSUL JITTERS YEZIDEES 

—  MAR  14ATTAI AKRA GEOGRAPHICAL    DISCOVERIES, 106 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


FIRST    JOURNEY     IN    THE    MOUNTAINS DUREE VIEW     FROM    SUMMIT   OF 

PASS  RECEPTION  LEZAN   SABBATH  SACRAMENT  ASHITHA  — 

PRIEST     ABRAHAM CHUMBA MALEK NESTORIAN      WOMEN NAZEE 

MOUNTAIN-ROADS  MAR      SHIMON'S      RESIDENCE  JULAMERK  BASH 

KALA,   AND    SICKNESS    OF   THE   EMIR, 129 


CHAPTER   IX. 

MR.    AINSWORTH  —  BEREAVEMENT  —  LETTERS SECOND    JOURNEY   THROUGH 

THE     MOUNTAINS HERTUSH KURDS ERZRUM CONSTANTINOPLE  — 

VISIT   TO   AMERICA  —  CHILDREN  "  THE   LOST   TRIBES  "  RETURN    TO 

THE    EAST, '. 151 


CHAPTER   X. 


THIRD   VISIT   TO   THE   MOUNTAINS REMINISCENCE DERVISHES SUMMA- 
RY   JUSTICE FAMINE TRAVELLING    IN    THE    EAST FALSE    ALARM 

ENCOUNTER   WITH    KURDISH    ROBBERS VAN TREACHERY    OF    KURDISH 

GUIDES  —  PATRIARCH    AND    DR.    GRANT    CROSS     THE   HIGHEST    MOUNTAIN 

IN  KURDISTAN JELU  —  BASS^ — TEHOMA SCRIPTURAL  ASSOCIATIONS — ■ 

NARROW      ESCAPE DISCOVERY     OF     ANTIQUITIES WINE-DRINKING  — 

LABORS    IN    ASHITHA NEWS    OF   DEATH    OF   MR.    AND   MRS.    MITCHELL 

TREACHERY  OF   NESTORIAN    GUIDES  —  THRILLING    ADVENTURE   IN     NIGHT 
JOURNEY  —  ARABS ARRIVAL   AT   MOSUL, 170 


CHAPTER  XI. 

JOURNEY   OP   MESSRS.  HINSDALE   AND   MITCHELL DIARBEKR LETTER    OP 

MR.    MITCHELL HIS   SICKNESS   AND   DEATH SICKNESS   OP   MRS.    MITCH- 
ELL  ARAB     INHUMANITY HER    DEATH  —  SICKNESS    OF    MR.    AND    MRS. 

HINSDALE HEAT     OF     MOSUL JACOBITES MISSIONARY      PROVIDENCE 

JEWS MOHAMMED     PASHA TURKISH     OPPRESSION LETTERS      OF 

M.    BOTTA TOUR     AMONG    MOUNTAINS     NEAR    MOSUL — MICHA ATHA- 

NASIUS,    BISHOP   OF   MALABAR, 195 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER   XII. 

JOURNEY     TO     OROOMIAH YEZIDEES  AND   MELEK   TAUS ERBIL  —  CHURL- 
ISHNESS  OF   KURDS  —  CHIEF    OF   RAVANDOOZ SCENERY THE   TOWN  OP 

RAVANDOOZ PILLARS     AT     SIDEK    AND     KELI     SHIN USHNEI DIFFI- 
CULTIES  AND    DELAYS, 217 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

FOURTH     JOURNEY     THROUGH     THE    MOUNTAINS ADVENTURE    AMONG    THE 

NOMAD    KURDS KANDI     KILEESEH MINERAL    SPRINGS KURDISH    IN- 

HOSPITALITY    AND     MURDERS TRAVELS    WITH     THE   EMIR NESTORIANS 

OF     TALL CAMP    IN     TEHOJMA JOURNEY     TO    JELU A    NIGHT    ON    THE 

MOUNTAINS NESTORIAN     TELEGRAPH BASS BLOOD     FEUD    AND    RE- 
CONCILIATION  KURDISH     LIFE     IN     CA3IP TEHOMA AVALANCHES 

NESTOBIAN     COOKING THOUGHTS     ON    PEACE MEDICAL    PRACTICE A 

NARROW    WAY HEART     OF     THE     MOUNTAINS HEIYO    THE     OUTLAW 

MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  BRIDGES LIFE    IN    ZOZAN RETURN    TO    ASHITHA 

POLITICS HERTUSH     CHIEF MISSION-HOUSE EMIR'S      PERMISSION 

TO    BUILD FAILURE     OF    EXPEDITION    AGAINST   AMADIA SYRIAC    DEED 

OF   REAL    ESTATE, 234 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

VISIT    OF     MR.    HINSDALE    TO    THE    MOUNTAINS CONFERENCE    OF    PAPISTS 

WITH   MAR   SHIMON RETURN   OF  MAR   YOOSUF   TO    OROOMIAH VISIT  OF 

DR.    GRANT    TO    JULAJVIERK A   SUNLESS  WINTER INTERVIEW   WITH    THE 

EMIR  KURDISH     LADIES  BANDITTI  THEIR     WAYS     AND     MEANS 

RETURN    TO    MOSUL DEATH    OF    MR.    HINSDALE PLAN    TO    ASSASSINATE 

DR.    GRANT HIGH-CHURCH    OPPONENT HIS    OWN    STATEMENTS HOW 

REGARDED   BY   OTHER   EPISCOPALIANS HIS   POLITICAL   INFLUENCE,  .  268 


CHAPTER  XV. 


PIFTH   VISIT    TO     THE   MOUNTAINS MUD     VILLAGE KIIORSABAD    AND     M. 

BOTTA AIN    SIFNEH    ANd"    YEZIDEES HEROINE    OF    BASTAWA WOMAN 

IN    MOSUL NATURAL    HISTORY AMADIA WHAT     POVERTY    AND     MIS- 
ERY   MEAN —  PASS  OVER    MATINKH SNOW VALE     OF     BERWER ZAR- 

NE  MULE-RIDING     IN      THE     MOUNTAINS  PATRIARCHAL      MANSION  

DR.    grant's    castle   AS    IT   WAS NESTORIAN     FEAST A     NIGHT     VISIT 

FROM   KURDISH    SPIES A    NESTORIAN    STRIKE  HOW    TO    SUPPRESS  IT 

ANOTHER    NIGHT- ALARM SYMPATHY    WITH    THE     EGYPTIANS FEROCITY 

OF   THE   NESTORIANS  —  APPROACH   OF   THE   STORM,     ....     •    .     .     .  288 


XII  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

VISIT    TO    BAUIR   KHAN    BEY FIERCENESS   OF    MOUNTAINEERS KESTA  — 

AJ«TIQUITIES KALA    KUMRI  — THE    HABOR A     KURDISH     "  CUISINE  " 

— DR.    grant's    COMMISSARIAT A    SABBATH    IN   ZACHO RULE   OF    BA- 

DIR     KHAN     BET JEZIRA FORTS     IN    MOUNTAIN     PASS DERGULEII 

THE     ASSEMBLED     CHIEFS ORIGIN     OF    THE    WAR BADIR    KHAN     BEY'S 

PROMISE     TO     DR.     GRANT HIS     TIHARACTER SUMMER    QUARTERS A 

GEORGIAN HOW    A    KURDISH    CHIEF   SPENDS    THE   DAY TRADITION    OF 

THE   ARK SHAKH RETURN    TO    ASHITHA, 323 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE     STORM VISIT    TO     MALEK     BERKHO SLAUGHTER 

IN     DISS RETURN    OF    DR.    GRANT    TO    MOSUL —^  MASSACRE     AT     CHUMBA, 

AT    MAR     SAWA    AND     SEESPIDHO DESTITUTION     AFTER     THE    SLAUGHTER 

MAR  SHIMON  FLEES  TO  MOSUL MISERY  OF  THE  CAPTIVES SUFFER- 
INGS OF  THE  REMNANT INSURRECTION  IN  ASHITHA  BRINGS  DESTRUC- 
TION ON  THE  WHOLE  VALLEY BUTCHERY  AT  LEZAN LAYARD'S  AC- 
COUNT  ATROCITIES  OF  ZEINER  BEY FALL  OF   TEHOMA STATISTICS,  344 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

COURTESY  BETWEEN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETIES LETTERS    OF    DR.  GRANT HIS 

PROPOSITION LABORS    AMONG     THE    .JACOBITES MICHA MR.   BADGER 

DR.    GRANT   EXONERATES    HIM    FR03I    A     FALSE   CHARGE 3LA.R   SHIMON 

EVIL   OVERRULED    FOR  GOOD BIBLE  CLASS ANOTHER  BEREAVEMENT 

REBUKE    FOR    SYMPATHY DEATH     OF    PASHA HOSPITALITY    TO    REF- 
UGEES  DEATHS      AMONG     THEM DIFFICULTY     ABOUT   BURIAL DR.    A. 

SMITH — HIS    JOURNEY CHARACTERISTICS HIS     LETTER    ON    "ORGAN- 
IZATION,"      366 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PLAN    TO    RETURN    TO    AMERICA LETTERS SICKNESS  AND    DEATH FUNE- 
RAL  TROUBLE  ABOUT  TOMB-STONE POSTHUMOUS  USEFULNESS LETTERS 

FROM    MR.   PERKINS    AND  DR.  AVRIGHT ADDRESS   OF  NESTORIAN   PUPIL 

TESTIMONY-   OF   ME.  BADGER LETTERS    FROM    HON.  BIR.  LAYARD  AND  REV. 

D.    W.    MARSH NOTICE     OF     MISSION      AFTER      DEATH     OF     DR.    GRANT  — 

DEATH    OF    CHILD    OF    MRS,    HINSDALE  LETTERS    OF    MICHA SUCCESSORS 

OF    DR.   GRANT   AT    MOSUL,    AND    IN    THE   MOUNTAINS FATE    OF   OPPOSERS 

CONCLUSION, 390 


A 


CHAPTER    I. 

PARENTAGE EARLY  LIFE HOME  TRAINING EDUCATION JLA-RRIAGE 

BRAINTRIM CHKISTIAN     ACTIVITY BEREAVEMENT UTICA USEFUL- 
NESS   THERE.- 

In  the  town  of  Marshall,  N.  Y.,  near  the  top  of  an  eminence 
still  known  as  "  Grant's  Hill,"  an  old  yellow  house,  two  stories 
high,  looks  out  on  dark-green  woods,  sunny  slopes  and  fruitful 
farms.  Here,  on  the  17th  of  Aug-ust,  1807,  Dr.  Asahel  Grant 
was  born.  The  place  is  changed  since  then.  Strangers  occupy 
the  old  homestead,  and  few  of  the  neighbors  remember  the 
subject  of  this  narrative. 

He  was  the  second  son  of  William  and  Rachel  Grant ;  in 
whom  God  had  not  only  provided  pious  parents  for  the  fiiture 
missionary,  but  such  as,  converted  in  early  life,  had  grown  up 
with  tastes  and  habits  sanctified  by  a  spiritual  faith.  They  were 
chosen,  too,  from  one  of  the  most  favored  nurseries  of  New 
England  piety, — Litchfield  county.  Conn.,  —  a  region  noted 
for  pure  revivals,  and  for  the  sterling,  intelligent  type  of  its 
piety.  There  Bellamy  lived  and  labored.  There  was  the  mis- 
sion school,  in  Cornwall.  From  that  county  went  out  Samuel  J. 
Mills  and  others,  to  bless  the  world.  It  furnished,  also,  one  of 
the  two  missionaries  who  were  afterwards  permitted  to  share 
the  labors  of  Dr.  Grant  in  Kurdistan. 

His  parents  were  eminently  given  to  prayer ;  and  that,  not 
merely  for  themselves  or  neighbors,  but  for  the  world.  Th^ 
kingdom  of  Christ  held  a  prominent  place  in  their  supplications. 
2 


CHAPTEH    I. 

PARENTAGE EARLY  LIFE HOME  TRAINING EDUCATION MARRIAGE 

BRAINTRIM CHRISTIAN     ACTIVITY BEREAVEJIENT UTICA  —  USEFUL- 
NESS  THERE.- 

In  the  town  of  Marshall,  N.  Y.,  near  the  top  of  an  eminence 
still  known  as  "  Grant's  Hill,"  an  old  yellow  house,  two  stories 
high,  looks  out  on  dark-green  woods,  sunny  slopes  and  fruitful 
farms.  Here,  on  the  17th  of  August,  1807,  Dr.  Asahel  Grant 
was  born.  The  place  is  changed  since  then.  Strangers  occupy 
the  old  homestead,  and  few  of  the  neighbors  remember  the 
subject  of  this  narrative. 

He  was  the  second  son  of  William  and  Rachel  Grant ;  in 
whom  God  had  not  only  provided  pious  parents  for  the  future 
missionary,  but  such  as,  converted  in  early  life,  had  grown  up 
with  tastes  and  habits  sanctified  by  a  spiritual  faith.  They  were 
chosen,  too,  from  one  of  the  most  favored  nurseries  of  New 
England  piety, — Litchfield  county,  Conn.,  —  a  region  noted 
for  pure  revivals,  and  for  the  sterling,  intelligent  type  of  its 
piety.  There  Bellamy  lived  and  labored.  There  was  the  mis- 
sion school,  in  Cornwall.  From  that  county  went  out  Samuel  J. 
Mills  and  others,  to  bless  the  world.  It  famished,  also,  one  of 
the  two  missionaries  who  were  afterwards  permitted  to  share 
the  labors  of  Dr.  Grant  in  Kurdistan. 

His  parents  were  eminently  given  to  prayer ;  and  that,  not 
merely  for  themselves  or  neighbors,  but  for  the  world.  Th^ 
kingdom  of  Christ  held  a  prominent  place  in  their  supplications. 
2 


It  is  said  that  his  father  never  failed  to  remember  his  children 
at  the  family  altar,  and  his  mother  often  took  them  with  her  to 
her  closet,  to  plead  with  them  and  for  them  before  God. 

It  reveals  something  of  the  character  of  these  prayers,  and 
the  lives  of  those  who  offered  them,  that  before  the  father  died 
all,  save  one,  of  his  children  were  hopefully  converted,  while  the 
mother  was  permitted  to  live  to  rejoice  in  hope  for  them  all. 
Such  were  the  parents  of  Dr.  Grant ;  and  we  should  fail  to 
detect  the  more  important  influences  that  gave  direction  to  his 
character,  if  we  do  not  look  in  on  those  seasons  of  family  devo- 
tion in  the  household  of  that  pious  farmer,  and  hear  the  mother 
speaking  to  her  children  of  Eliot  and  Brainerd,  and  the  Saviour 
who  commanded  them  to  preach  his  gospel  to  them  that  sit  in 
darkness. 

It  deserves  notice  that  the  Rev.  S.  Kirkland,  who  had  been 
a  missionary  to  the  Indians  for  forty  years,  died  in  the  very 
town  where  Dr.  Grant  was  born,  while  he  was  yet  an  infant  in 
his  cradle.  What  effect  the  memory  of  that  good  man,  as  dwelt 
on  by  his  mother  in  his  boyish  years,  may  have  had  in  deciding 
his  future  course,  can  never  be  known  till  we  see  the  connec- 
tions that  bind  together  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  all  ages  in  the 
light  of  heaven.  Be  that  as  it  may,  no  one  can  read  his  letters 
to  his  mother,  revealing  ardent  affection  and  esteem,  unchanged 
to  the  very  last,  and  not  feel  that  it  was  no  common  impression 
in  childhood  that  continued  through  all  his  changing  career  so 
fresh  and  clear  to  the  end.  Just  before  his  death,  he  stated  that 
the  early  religious  impressions  made  by  his  godly  mother  had 
followed  him  in  all  his  wanderings  through  life.  Courage,  then, 
Christian  mother  !  you  deem  your  sphere  of  action  humble  and 
obscure,  but  you  may  be  moulding  a  character  tha^  shall  be  felt 
around  the  globe  and  down  through  distant  ages. 

Mere  piety,  however,  and  prayerfulness,  are  not  the  only 
requisites  of  a  good  parent.  A  judicious  method  of  discipline, 
"firmly  carried  through,  is  essential  in  the  training  of  children 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  15 

who  are  to, be  useful  in  after  life;  and,  therefore,  we  are  not  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  the  parents  of  Dr.  Grant  were  found  faith- 
ful in  this,  also.  Wlien  he  was  about  two  years  old,  his  mother 
had  a  severe  struggle  to  secure  his  obedience ;  but,  severe  though 
it  was,  she  did  not  stop  till  he  was  subdued,  —  and  a  word,  or 
even  a  look,  from  her  afterwards,  was  enough. 

His  disposition  was  naturally  very  pleasant.  He  was  remark- 
ably obliging,  even  in  childhood  ;  and  none  that  knew  the  man 
will  forget  the  loveliness  of  this  trait,  that  seemed  to  have  been 
ripening  from  his  earliest  years. 

He  early  manifested  a  preference  for  the  medical  profession. 
The  money  given  him  was  carefully  saved  till  he  was  about 
seven  years  of  age  ;  and  before  any  of  the  family  were  aware,  he 
had  a  drawer  neatly  fitted  up  as  a  miniature  apothecary's  shop. 
In  this  may  be  seen  the  bud  of  that  decision  and  self-reliance 
that  afterwards  carried  through  greater  enterprises  alone  and 
unaided. 

His  school  life  began  in  the  district  school-house,  a  mile  from 
his  father's  house  ;  and,  at  ten  years  of  age,  he  might  be  seen 
poring  over  his  books,  while  others  played.  Nor  were  these 
mere  story-books,  but  history  and  science  were  already  his 
chosen  themes.  While  engaged  on  the  farm,  he  read  many  a 
volume  fastened  to  the  plough  ;  and  at  the  "  nooning,"  when 
others  slept,  he  was  reading.  Still,  it  would  seem  that  his 
father  did  not  do  much  to  encourage  this  ardent  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, for  he  needed  his  help  on  the  farm,  and,  perhaps,  feared 
lest  he  might  lose  it.  But  his  mother  did  all  in  her  power  to 
foster  his  love  of  books,  for  to  her  mind  it  was  full  of  promise 
fur  the  future. 

Such  good  training  at  home  was  not  thwarted  by  bad  influ- 
ences from  without.  He  was  far  removed  from  the  distracting 
sights  and  demoralizing  habits  of  the  city.  His  home  was  in  the 
midst  of  an  intelligent  people,  who  loved  the  gospel,  and  there-, 
fore  promoted  education.      The  spirit  of  the  devoted  missionary 


16  DR.GRANTANDTHE 

who  had  laid  his  bones  among  them  seemed  to  remain  in  the 
community  ;  and  their  aeademy  had,  doubtless,  other  and 
deeper  connections  with  Kirkland  than  his  name.  There  were 
libraries,  to  whose  stores  of  information  Dr.  Grant  had  early 
access ;  and,  no  doubt,  young  men  like-minded  with  himself, 
whose  intercourse  was  mutually  beneficial. 

His  temper  was  naturally  quick,  but  at  the  age  of  twelve  he 
had  already  attained  that  mastery  of  himself  which  many  who 
begin  later  struggle  for  in  vain.  Impatience  and  fretfulness  do 
not  mar  the  pleasant  recollections  treasured  up  in  the  memories 
of  his  friends. 

About  this  time  occurs  a  noticeable  link  in  the  chain  of 
providences  fitting  him  for  the  future.  His  services  were  so 
valuable  on  the  farm,  that  probably  his  father  would  never  have 
consented  to  his  leaving  it,  had  not  a  severe  wound  from  an  axe 
in  one  of  his  feet  so  unfitted  him  for  agricultural  labor  that 
he  was  allowed  to  gratify  his  oft-repeated  desire  to  study 
medicine. 

It  must  have  been  before  this  accident  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  jumping  on  his  father's  colts,  and  riding  about  the  pas- 
ture without  saddle  or  bridle,  despite  all  their  efforts  to  throw 
him  off ;  an  early  development  of  his  characteristic  fearlessness 
and  tact.  With  a  constitution  invigorated  by  out-door  exercise, 
and  the  simple  habits  of  his  early  home,  he  now  spent  two  or 
three  terms  at  an  academy,  and  one  term  at  Hamilton  College, 
in  the  study  of  chemistry. 

When  only  sixteen,  he  taught  a  school  with  marked  success, 
and  with  the  dignity  of  riper  years  ;  and  then  continued  his 
academical  studies,  till  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  Hastings,  of  Clinton.  That  this  last  relation  was  a  pleasant 
one,  we  may  infer  from  his  giving  the  name  of  his  instructor  to 
his  eldest  son.  He  also  attended  the  usual  lectures  at  Fairfield, 
and  at  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts  ;    and  near  the  close  of  his 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  17 

studies  spent  a  year  with  Dr.  Douglass,  theu  a  noted  surgeou  in 
Utica. 

Thus,  while  Dr.  Grant  was  well  trained  as  a  physician,  he  did 
not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education.  This  he  always 
felt  to  be  a  disadvantage,  though  his  early  habits  of  reading 
were  never  intermitted,  when  books  were  within  his  reach ;  and 
he  himself  would  have  warned  impatient  youth  that,  though  it 
may  seem  a  waste  of  time,  yet  a  regular,  thorough  education  is 
a  real  saving,  in  the  better  qualification  it  gives  for  doing  good. 

However  amiable  and  moral,  Dr.  Grant  was  not  yet  a  Chris- 
tian. Like  others  at  his  age,  he  was  gay,  and  fond  of  worldly 
amusements.  But  the  prayers  that  for  more  than  nineteen 
years  had  been  ascending  for  him  were  now  to  be  answered. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  no  full  record  of  his  religious 
feelings  at  the  time  of  his  conversion.  We  want  to  know  more 
of  the  beginning  of  a  religious  life  whose  subsequent  develop- 
ment was  so  marked ;  but  so  much  as  we  know  makes  it  mani- 
fest that,  not  as  some,  desiring  only  happiness  from  Christ,  and, 
therefore,  never  finding  it,  but  as  a  sinner  deserving  destruction, 
who  could  neither  save  himself  nor  urge  any  claim  on  Christ  for 
salvation,  he  cast  himself  on  His  mercy,  and  found  peace  through 
faith.  With  the  foundation  of  missionary  character  thus  laid  in 
a  personal  union  to  the  Saviour,  he  increased  in  fitness  for  the 
work,  by  his  diligent  labors  for  the  salvation  of  his  late  associ- 
ates, joined  to  a  great  delight  in  the  closet  and  in  the  word  of 
God,  —  two  tilings  that  at  the  very  ends  of  the  earth  more  than 
make  up  the  loss  of  all  earthly  friends. 

He  joined  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Clinton,  and  it  need 
scarce  be  added  that  henceforth  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
missionary  work  ;  for  how  can  it  be  otherwise  with  one  who  loves 
the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  lives  for  his  glory  ? 

One  of  his  companions,  who  most  deeply  sympathized  with  his 
new  feelings,  and  was  the  more  immediate  means  of  the  change, 
was  Miss  Electa  S.  Loomis,  of  Torrington,  Connecticut.  Beau- 
2* 


18  D  II  .     0  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

tiful  in  person,  of  an  amiabh  tcmiter,  having  well  improved  her 
advantages  for  an  education,  she  was  every  way  worthy  of  his 
ardent  attachment.  Her  piety  must  have  been  deep  and  decided, 
and  she  herself  possessed  of  no  little  weight  of  character,  to  exert 
the  influence  she  did  on  the  gay  young  physician.  But  he  was 
just  the  man  to  appreciate  her  excellence,  and  they  were  mar- 
ried when  he  was  yet  in  his  twentieth  year.  A  union  formed 
in  such  circumstances  was  likely  to  be  happy,  for  their  affec- 
tion, being  largely  imbued  with  love  to  Christ,  was  fitted  to  be 
permanent.  A  year  afterwards  he  received  his  diploma,  and 
settled  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Utiea,  in  the  rural 
village  of  Braintrim,  just  over  the  line  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
banks  of  the  beautiful  Susquehanna.  He  evidently  carried  his 
religion  with  him,  for  he  was  chosen  Euling  Elder  in  the  little 
church. 

During  most  of  their  residence  here  the  church  was  without 
a  pastor  ;  and  it  speaks  well  for  the  position  Dr.  Grant  occupied 
as  a  Christian,  that  while  there  he  read  more  sermons  to  the 
congregation  on  the  Sabbath  than  he  had  the  privilege  of  hear- 
ing preached.  He  neither  belonged  to  those  physicians  whose 
business  is  so  pressing  during  the  hours  devoted  to  public  wor- 
ship that  they  cannot  attend,  nor  to  those  church-members 
whose  presence  in  the  sanctuary  depends  mainly  on  the  degree 
of  attraction  in  the  pulpit,  and  who  go  to  the  prayer-meeting 
only  when  not  likely  to  be  called  on  to  take  a  part.  His  piety 
was  not  of  that  spongy  character  that  is  dry  and  hard  save  as 
it  absorbs  moisture  from  without,  and  then  refuses  to  impart  it 
except  under  pressure.  It  vras  like  the  fountain,  ever  filled 
from  the  fulness  there  is  in  Christ,  and  ever  imparting  what  it 
had  to  others. 

God  seems  to  have  had  another  object  in  placing  him  there. 
His  duties  as  physician  often  led  him  to  ford  the  river  when  the 
current  almost  carried  away  his  horse  ;  and  when  that  had  to  he 
left  behind    md  he  could   crops  the   swollen   stream  only  in  a 


MOUNTAIN     NESTO  11  lANS.  11) 

canoe,  then  ho  was  compelled  to  walk  long  distances  over  the 
hills,  as  though  He  who  had  called  him  to  toil  among  the  rug- 
ged defiles  of  Kurdistan  took  this  method  to  prepare  him  for 
iiis  work. 

His  moral  courage  was  so  conspicuous,  in  surmounting  the 
difficulties  of  his  position  here,  as  to  lead  a  friend  to  write  after- 
wards to  the  American  Board,  —  "  If  you  have  a  field  requiring 
great  physical  activity  and  moral  courage,  lie  is  the  man.  If 
called  to  it,  no  fear  but  he  will  endure  hardness  as  a  good  sol- 
dier of  Jesus  Christ."  We  need  no  records  of  their  stay  in 
Braintrim  to  assure  us  that  two  such  congenial  spirits  were 
happy  in  the  prosecution  of  every  good  work.  But  that  happi- 
ness was  short.  The  missionary  needed  to  be  prepared  for 
future  scenes  by  suffering  as  well  as  hardships ;  and  his  beloved 
Electa  was  taken  from  him,  after  four  short  years  of  delightful 
cooperation  in  efforts  to  do  good.  Hers  seems  to  have  been  a 
missionary  spirit ;  and,  though  not  permitted  to  enter  the  field, 
who  knows  how  much  she  did  to  prepare  ber  husband  for  his 
future  toils,  so  that,  though  dead,  she  still  speaks  In  Mosul  and 
Tyary,  as  well  as  in  that  quiet  village  on  the  Susquehanna  ! 
We  have  a  glimpse,  and  but  a  glimpse,  of  her  gentle  spirit,  when 
on  her  death-bed,  speaking  of  the  children  she  was  so  soon  to 
leave,  she  says  to  her  weeping  husband,  "  The  Lord  will  take 
care  of  them."  Words  repeated  by  him  also,  when  he  spoke  of 
those  same  children,  on  his  own  death-bed,  in  a  distant  land. 
She  left  two  sons,  the  oldest  now  the  popular  librarian  of  the 
New  York  Mercantile  Library  Association  ;  and  the  other,  — 
then  five  months  old,  —  a  graduate  of  Kenyon  College,  in  Ohio  ; 
both  adorning  a  profession  of  devotion  to  the  God  of  their 
fathers. 

Four  days  after  the  beginning  of  her  last  sickness,  her  hus- 
band was  prostrated  with  bilious  fever,  and  his  life  trembled  In 
the  balance  when  she  was  carried  to  the  grave.  His  mother,  as 
soon  as  she  heard  of  it,  hastened  to  his  bedside.     Her  daughter- 


20  D  K  .     (i  K  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

in-law  hud  been  dead  some  days  when  she  arrived,  and,  after 
staying  through  some  weeks  of  her  son's  convalescence,  she 
kindly  took  his  motherless  babe  to  her  own  home.  Thanks  to 
God  for  a  mother's  love  !  Her  child  may  leave  her  and  set  uj) 
another  and  a  distant  home,  and  yet,  at  the  first  news  of  afflic- 
tion, the  same  hand  that  helped  us  in  infancy,  and  the  same 
voice  that  soothed  our  childish  grief,  hastens  to  comfort  us,  as 
kind  and  tender,  and,  if  possible,  more  gentle  than  before. 

As  soon  as  he  was  able.  Dr.  Grant  settled  up  his  affairs,  and, 
with  his  oldest  son,  exchanged  the  scene  of  so  much  sorrow  for 
the  friendly  shelter  of  his  father's  roof.  He  suffered,  but  he  did 
not  complain.  He  felt  that  the  dearest  objects  of  earthly  affec- 
tion are  lent  but  for  a  moment.  .  And,  as  he  found  the  greatest 
comfort  in  reviewing  their  mutual  efforts  to  serve  God,  he 
devoted  himself  as  never  before  to  self-denying  labor  for  Christ. 
He  was  led  to  look  in  on  another  world ;  but,  instead  of  impatient 
desire  to  enter  into  rest,  he  consecrated  himself  afresh  to  the 
work  of  bringing  others,  through  grace,  to  that  glorious  inher- 
itance. 

The  preparatory  discipline  God  designed  for  him  in  Brain- 
trim  was  now  completed,  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  was  led  to 
settle  in  Utica,  the  last  remove  previous  to  entering  on  the 
great  work  before  him.  He  here  entered  into  partnership  with 
an  experienced  physician,  whose  removal,  some  eighteen  months 
after,  left  him  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  Here,  again,  he 
took  at  once  a  decided  stand  as  a  Christian.  He  was  ever  in 
his  place  on  the  Sabbath,  and  took  an  active  part  in  prayer- 
meetings  during  the  week.  He  was  the  prime  mover  in  a  phiu 
to  supply  the  poor  with  useful  reading,  and,  in  the  words  of  a 
livhuT  witness,  "as  an  active  Christian  layman,  he  had  no  supe- 
rior hi  the  city."  He  exerted  himself  in  the  most  self-denying 
forms  of  Christian  effort,  such  as  labors  among  the  poor  and  the 
boatmen  on  the  canal.  So  identified  was  he  with  these  efforts, 
that  he  was  known  to  many  as  "  the  friend  of  the  poor,"  a  title 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  21 

he  shared  in  common  with  the  late  Dr.  William  Gordon,  in  our 
father-land.  In  his  practice  he  did  not  seek  wealth,  but  useful- 
ness, according  to  the  command,  —  whether,  therefore,  ye  eat  or 
drink,  or  whatever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

In  kind,  assiduous  attention  to  his  patients,  he  was  excelled 
by  none.  The  poor  preferred  him.  During  the  prevalence  of 
the  cholera  in  1832,  he  was  "in  labors  more  abundant."  Says 
his  pastor.  Dr.  S.  C.  Aikin,  "  Never  was  a  man  more  active  than 
he  in  that  time  of  suifering,  till  he  himself  was  prostrated  by  the 
disease.  I  well  remember  the  hour.  It  was  in  a  house  where 
all  were  sick,  —  the  father  and  a  lovely  daughter  in  the  agonies 
of  death.  Passing  from  room  to  room,  I  found  him  sitting  by 
the  kitchen  fire,  his  head  resting  on  his  hands.  I  saw  at  once 
the  disease  was  on  him,  and  yet  could  scarce  persuade  him  to 
retire  and  take  Care  of  himself.  His  compassion,  no  less  than 
his  fortitude  and  wonderful  power  of  endurance,  sometimes 
carried  him  too  far.  But  he  felt  he  was  called  to  minister  to 
the  poor,  and  that  no  personal  sacrifice  must  be  spared." 

Unlike  those  who  are  never  ready  to  act  till  others  are,  he 
was  always  ready  to  go  forward  in  doing  good.  He  was  active 
when  others  were  stupid  and  lifeless  ;  such  an  one  as  a  pastoi 
could  safely  lean  on ;  and  yet,  with  all  his  zeal,  he  showed  great 
prudence  and  sound  judgment.  He  had,  withal,  an  uncommon 
facility  at  living  peaceably  with  all  men ;  and  it  is  no  slight 
evidence  of  this,  that  he  secured  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
his  brother  physicians,  —  a  holy  skill  he  never  lost  in  any  scene 
of  future  labor.  He  showed  great  tact  in  approaching  men,  so 
as  to  disarm  prejudice,  and  make  a  stranger  feel  at  once  that 
he  was  a  friend  ;  an  impression  subsequent  intercourse  never 
counteracted.  He  was  one  of  the  select  few  who  can  do  gooc\ 
and  deal  faithfully,  yet  without  giving  offence.  Though  an 
uncompromising  foe  to  Popery,  he  had  the  confidence  of  the 
Papists,  beyond,  perhaps,  any  other  Protestant  in  Utica.  Even 
their  priests  recommended  him  as  the  best  and  most   honest 


22  DR.GRANTANDTUE 

physician  in  the  place,  teaching  us  that  love  to  those  in  error 
is  compatible  with  the  most  steadfast  attachment  to  the  truth, 
and  will  do  good  when  bitterness  and  bigotry  only  bar  the  road 
to  usefulness. 

It  was  some  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held 
by  good  men,  that  after  only  one  year's  residence  in  the  place, 
he  was  chosen  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  though  he 
was  then  only  in  his  twenty-fourth  year,  and  none  of  his  asso- 
ciates had  numbered  less  than  forty.  "  Owing  to  his  sense  of 
unfitness  and  comparative  youth,"  says  his  pastor,  already 
quoted,  "  he  was  hardly  persuaded  to  accept  the  ofiice  to  which 
he  was  unanimously  chosen  ;  but  the  choice  was  judicious,  and 
most  fortunate  for  the  church.  He  was  both  popular  and  use- 
ful ;  though  young,  he  was  wise  in  council ;  and  so  consistent 
was  his  life,  so  devoted  in  visiting  from  house  to  house,  so  aficc- 
tionate  and  yet  faithful  in  instruction  and  admonition,  that  he 
soon  secured  the  confidence,  not  only  of  the  church,  but  of  the 
impenitent  also.  However  they  found  fault  with  some,  all 
readily  admitted  that  Dr.  Grant  was  a  true  believer.  The 
church  was  loth  to  part  with  him,  for  seldom  is  a  church 
blessed  with  such  an  ofl&cer.  Too  many  elders  count  their  duty 
done,  if  now  and  then  they  attend  a  meeting  of  session  ;  but 
he  regarded  the  ofiice  as  involving  the  duty  of  being  an  exam- 
ple to  the  church,  and  cooperating  with  the  pastor  in  active 
labor  ;  in  short,  an  investiture  demanding  the  entire  consecra- 
tion of  time  and  talents  to  Christ." 

He  had  such  a  winning  way  of  conversing  on  religious  sub- 
jects, and  his  life  added  such  force  to  his  words,  that  in  revivals 
he  was  eminently  useful.  The  secret  of  his  usefulness  was  felt 
to  be  Christ  dwelling  in  him.  His  pastor  loved  to  see  him  in  a 
meeting  for  inquirers,  he  was  so  still  and  solemn,  so  happy  in 
n\eeting  objections  and  removing  difficulties. 

As  a  teacher  in  the  Sabbath-school,  he  was  very  faithful,  and 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  128 

seldom  absent ;  beloved  by  his  class,  as  such  a  teacher  might 
expect  to  be. 

By  rigorous  system,  he  contrived  to  visit  his  patients  without 
neglecting  either  the  sanctuary  or  the  Sabbath-school.  His 
duties  for  the  day  were  all  arranged  in  the  morning,  and  each 
fell  naturally  into  its  proper  place,  so  that  he  did  not  need, 
like  some,  to  neglect  one  duty,  in  order  to  perform  another. 

With  all  this,  he  was  not  appreciated  by  many  as  he  would 
have  been  but  for  his  retiring  and  unassuming  manners. 

Such  was  Dr.  Grant  in  Utica,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
those  who  knew  him  most  intimately.  In  the  next  chapter  we 
will  view  him  in  the  more  immediate  preparation  for  his  work. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DECISION    TO    BE    A    MISSIONARY LETTERS  —  MISSIONARY     TRAINING     OF 

aiRS,  J.    S.    G. SECOND   JIARRIAGE EMBARKATION. 

One  intimate  with  him  at  this  time  (Rev.  J.  B.  Shaw)  writes, 
*'  The  Christianity  of  Dr.  Grant  is  a  determination  to  honor 
Christ  in  making  the  world  better.  With  him,  to  serve  Christ 
is  to  do  good  to  the  utmost  extent  and  for  the  longest  period. 
At  one  time  he  thought  of  going,  disconnected  with  any  society, 
to  Singapore  or  China,  there  to  employ  his  medical  skill  to  the 
best  advantage  for  Christ.  With  this  enlarged  benevolence  was 
joined  another  quality  that  eminently  fitted  him  for  the  post 
before  him.  By  nature  he  was  courageous,  and  piety  trans- 
formed this  iijto  a  Christian  intrepidity  that  never  knew  fear  in 
maintaining  the  right  or  doing  good.  His  self-possession  in- 
creased, as  difficulties  grew  more  appalling.  His  nerve  was 
firmer,  as  danger  grew  more  imminent."  As  we  have  seen,  in 
the  midst  of  a  dreaded  epidemic,  he  counted  not  his  life  dear 
to  him,  if  only  he  might  do  good.  Such  characteristics  led  a 
friend  to  say  that  "  one  design  of  Providence  in  assembling  the 
Board  at  Utica,  in  1834,  seemed  to  be  to  enlist  Dr.  Grant  in  the 
work ;  the  part  of  the  report  relating  to  Persia  touched  a  chord 
in  his  heart  that  never  after  ceased  to  vibrate." 

But  we  will  hear  his  own  account  of  the  matter,  as  given  in 
his  "  Appeal  to  Pious  Physicians,"  written  after  his  arrival  in 
Persia  : 

"  A  young  physician,  who  had  an  extensive  and  increasing 
practice  in  one  of  our  flourishing  cities,  had  thought  much  of 


DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     NESTORIANS.  LJ.) 

engaging  in  the  work  ;  but,  as  often  as  he  considered  the  matter 
he  dismissed  it,  under  the  plea  that,  much  as  laborers  might  be 
needed,  yet  there  were  so  many  obstacles  in  his  way  that  he,  at 
all  events,  could  not  go.  Others  were  better  qualified,  and  with 
far  less  to  detain  them  at  home,  and  they  might  go.  But  they 
did  not,  —  the  call  was  urgent,  and  what  was  to  be  done  ?  He 
prayed  over  the  subject,  and  resolved  on  a  more  thorough  exam- 
ination of  personal  duty.  He  took  up  his  former  excuses,  one 
by  one.  He  asked,  '  Can  I  do  more  at  home  or  abroad  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world.  In  this  view,  where  am  I  most  needed  ? 
Here  I  may  relieve  much  suffering,  and  perhaps  prolong  some 
valuable  lives.  But,  should  I  go,  others  could  do  it  just  as 
well,  and  I  should  not  be  missed.  Abroad  I  may  relieve  one 
hundred-fold  more  of  misery, — perhaps  save  the  lives  of  mis- 
sionaries of  inestimable  value  to  the  cause,  and  that,  too,  when 
no  one  else  will  do  it. 

"  '  Here  I  have  many  opportunities  of  acting  for  Christ ;  but 
what  are  they,  in  comparison  with  those  abroad,  where  I  may  be 
the  only  spiritual  guide  to  thousands  who  would  never  be 
reached  by  another  ? 

"  '  Here,  if  business  continues  to  prosper,  I  can  give  liberally, 
and  labor  for  the  heathen  by  proxy ;  but  money  alone  will  not 
do  the  work,  and  laborers,  especially  physicians,  are  not  to  be 
found. 

"  '  Here,  as  an  officer  in  an  influential  church,  and  various 
other  benevolent  societies,  I  may  do  much ;  and  many  think  I 
ought  not  to  change  a  certainty  for  an  uncertainty.  But  do  I 
not  know  that  those  churches  that  do  most  for  the  heathen  and 
send  forth  the  most  laborers  are  most  blessed  of  God  ?  Can  I 
not,  then,  do  most  for  Christ  at  home  by  going  in  person  to 
those  who  sit  in  darkness  ? 

"  '  But  there  are  other  ties,  entwined  with  the  tenderest  feel- 
ings of  nature  ;  and  how  shall  they  be  severed  ?  How  shall  I 
leave  my  parents,  in  their  declining  years  ?  How  say  farewell 
3 


26  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

to  my  sister  and  brothers?  More  than  all,  how  can  I  leaye  twc 
darling  children  alone  in  this  selfish  world  ? 

"  '  In  these  questions,  so  far  as  mere  feeling  is  concerned, 
though  the  heart  thrill  with  agony,  it  should  not  turn  the 
Christian  from  duty.  My  parents  are  not  dependent  on  me. 
3Iy  going  may  be  the  greatest  blessing  to  my  brothers  and  sis- 
ter ;  and  what  can  I  do  for  my  children  that  would  not  be  done 
for  them  if  I  am  gone  ?  The  great  thing  to  be  done  for  a  child 
is  to  fit  him  for  usefulness  here  and  the  enjoyment  of  God  in 
heaven.  For  this  agencies  can  be  provided,  and  superadded 
will  be  a  parent's  example,  turning  their  attention  to  the  great 
work  he  prays  they  may  be  qualified  to  pursue.  If  God  calls 
me  to  leave  them  for  his  sake,  he  will  take  care  of  them.  It 
may  be  the  duty  of  others  to  go  ;  but  would  I  let  my  neighbor 
die  of  hunger,  because  his  rich  brother  ought  to  feed  him  rather 
than  I  ?  No  more  can  I  let  millions  perish  forever,  because 
others  do  not  give  them  the  bread  of  life.  I  cannot,  I  dare  not 
go  up  to  judgment,  till  I  have  done  the  utmost  God  enables  me 
to  do  to  difiuse  his  glory  through  the  earth.'  " 

This  touching  delineation  of  his  inward  struggles  seems  to 
include  the  whole  up  to  his  final  determination  to  go,  which  was 
not  till  after  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  in  September,  1834. 
No  one  can  read  it  and  not  feel  that  he  was  an  honest  man ; 
that,  when  he  consecrated  himself  to  God,  he  meant  w^hat  he 
promised,  and  was  resolved  to  fulfil  it  at  whatever  cost.  With 
all  his  fearlessness  and  energy,  he  was  naturally  aftectionate. 
His  heart  had  a  peculiar  aptitude  for  the  endearments  of  home, 
and  nothing  short  of  the  voice  of  God  could  tear  that  yearning 
heart  from  the  children  it  loved  so  well.  But  Providence  had 
prepared  the  way  for  him  to  go.  On  the  other  side  of  the  globe 
he  had  prepared  a  work  for  him  to  do,  and  the  time  drew  near 
to  bring  them  together. 

On  the  28th  of  October  he  off"ered  himself  to  the  Board,  in 
the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Anderson  : 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  27 

"  Dear  Brotuer  :  Since  our  short  interview  I  have  been 
seriously  examining  whether  duty  to  my  Saviour  calls  me  to 
hibor  in  a  foreign  field.  When  I  think  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
v^oik  and  the  importance  of  thorough  preparation,  and  then  of 
my  own  i^nfitness  for  a  post  of  so  great  responsibility,  my  heart 
almost  faints  within  me.  But  then,  as  I  ponder  the  worth  of 
the  soul,  and  see  millions  going  to  the  awful  retributions  of  eter- 
nity, my  heart  grieves  that  so  few  heed  their  cries,  and  I  am 
ready  to  exclaim, '  Here  am  I,  —  send  me  ! '  At  Jesus'  call,  and 
sustained  by  the  blessed  assurance,  '  /  am  idth  you  alway,'  I 
stand  ready  to  go^  in  the  face  of  danger  and  death,  to  any  part 
of  the  world  under  the  dominion  of  the  prince  of  darkness. 
What  though  I  tear  away  from  children  and  all  the  endear- 
ments of  home,  wear  out  life  amid  toil  and  suffering,  and  find  a 
grave  among  strangers  ?  Only  let  me  be  the  means  of  salvation  to 
some  lost  sinner  who  shall  meet  me  in  heaven,  and  I  shall  bless 
God  for  it  through  eternity.  Some  of  my  friends  doubt  whether 
I  ought  to  go  from  my  children  ;  but,  though  the  question  has 
perplexed  me  much,  when  I  think  with  what  confidence  they 
would  trust  their  dearest  interests  to  my  care  while  engaged  in 
my  service,  shall  I  not  confide  them  to  my  heavenly  Father, 
while  engaged  in  his  ?  I  often  think  with  what  sweet  compo- 
sure their  dying  mother  said,  while  her  countenance  beamed 
with  a  heavenly  smile,  '  The  Lord  will  take  care  of  them.''  And 
while  I  think  of  his  faithfulness  as  the  hearer  of  prayer,  I 
fondly  look  forward  to  the  day  when  they  too  shall  preach 
Christ  to  the  perishing. 

"  My  only  wish,  in  regard  to  a  location,  is  to  go  where  I  am 
most  needed.  True,  before  conversing  with  you,  my  mind  had 
turned  towards  some  extensive  field.  Since  then,  I  have 
thought  of  the  Nestorians;  have  read  'Smith  and  Dwight,' 
and,  with  a  view  to  a  better  knowledge  of  the  country,  have 
reviewed  Morier,  Shoberl  and  Maltebrun,  and  so  much  of  thei 
Life  of  Ilonry  Marty n  as  relates  to   Persia.     Should  that  sta- 


28  Dll.     GRANT     AND     THE 

tion  remain  vacant,  and  the  Board  see  fit  to  employ  me,  I  trust 
their  anxiety  to  send  a  laborer  there  will  not  induce  them  to 
send  me  to  a  post  for  which  I  am  unqualified.  But  to  their 
judgment  I  cheerfully  submit  the  whole  matter." 

We  have  here  a  glimp.<e  into  the  habits  of  reading  begun  in 
his  school-boy  days;  and  Dr.  Anderson  would  seem  to  have  sug- 
gested the  Nestorians  as  the  probable  field  of  his  future  labor. 
On  the  8th  of  November  —  a  little  more  than  a  week  after- 
wards—  he  discloses  his  feelings  to  his  mother;  for  her 
training  of  the  child  had  taught  the  man  where  to  look  for  sym- 
pathy on  such  a  subject.  0  that  the  church  had  more  such 
mothers !  Then  would  there  be  no  luck  of  men  to  take  up  his 
fallen  mantle,  and  fill  his  vacant  place.     But  to  the  letter  : 

"  My  Dear  Mother  :  #  #  #  ^-  If  to  glorify  the  Redeemer  in  sav- 
ing souls  for  whom  he  died  be  the  all-important  business  of  life, 
ought  we  not  to  make  all  else  subservient  to  it,  and,  regardless 
of  our  own  feelings,  lay  aside  everything  that  would  hinder  its 
faithful  prosecution  ?  Is  any  sacrifice  too  great  to  make  for 
Him  who  sacrificed  his  life  for  us  ?  I  know  too  well  that  keen 
will  be  the  trial  of  our  separation  ;  but  how  soon  shall  we  meet 
again  !  and  if  theji  Christ  approves,  shall  we  regret  the  tnal  ?  " 
He  then  presents  the  case  somewhat  as  already  given,  and  adds, 
"  How  shall  I  wish  I  had  decided  when  I  stand  at  the  bar  of 
God?  Shall  I  not  wish  I  had  labored  for  the  heathen  who  shall 
meet  me  there  ?  What  though  here  I  might  heap  up  riches,  — 
would  they  compare  with  the  durable  riches  laid  up  for  those 
who  through  much  tribulation  have  washed  their  robes  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ?  ^  ^X:  ^  ^ 

"  Dear  mother,  I  would  not  act  from  a  misguided  zeal.  I 
know  that  I  need  counsel  from  on  high,  and  I  hope  you  will 
ask  it  for  me.  God  can  give  us  wisdom,  but  let  us  see  to  it 
that  we  decide  in  view  of  eternity.  I  have  solemnly  conse- 
crated myself  and  all  I  have  to  God ;  and  I  dare  not  go  from  his 


MOUNTAIN     NESTO  III  AN  S.  29 

altar  and  stand  convicted  before  the  universe  of  having  loved 
the  world  more  than  God  and  the  souls  of  m}^  dying  fellow- 
men." 

We  omit  the  remainder,  to  make  room  for  a  few  extracts  from 
a  letter  written  on  the  same  day  to  his  sister. 

"My  Dear  Sister . Mary :  ^  =^  =^  Perhaps  you  say  it  is 
my  duty  to  take  care  of  the  children  Grod  has  committed  to  my 
charge.  It  is  clear  that,  unless  they  can  have  every  reasonable 
prospect  of  being  trained  up  for  usefulness,  I  ought  not  to  leave 
them.  But,  should  God  enable  me  to  provide  for  them  a  home 
and  a  religious  education,  may  he  not  have  other  work  for  me  ? 
Missionaries  send  their  children  home,  and  in  so  doing  cannot 
make  provision  so  Avell  as  I  can  in  person.  But,  as  this  is  an 
important  question,  let  us  look  at  it  in  its  probable  bearing  on 
the  Christian  character  of  the  child.  As  he  thinks  of  his  father, 
will  he  not  think  of  God  also  ?  With  his  thoughts  so  often 
turned  to  the  heathen,  for  whom  his  father  labors,  will  not  their 
wants  affect  him  ?  Will  he  not  feel  the  claims  of  God  more ; 
and,  especially,  will  there  not  be  more  fervent  prayer  offered 
for  him,  both  by  his  friends  and  the  church  of  Christ  ?  Then, 
conscious  too  of  going  at  his  call,  may  I  not  leave  them  with 
entire  confidence  in  my  Saviour's  care  ?  ^^  ^  #  ^ 

"  Wliat  though  I  never  more  sluiU  meet  the  warm  embrace  of 
beloved  friends  on  earth,  —  will  our  meeting  be  less  happy 
above  ?  Will  we  not  bless  God  for  the  privilege  of  suffering  for 
his  sake  ?  Pray  for  me,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  teach  me 
what  to  do  I  " 

On  the  15th  of  ^December  he  thus  acknowledges  the  recei]>t 
of  his  appointment  as  m.issionary  : 

Kev.  E.  Anderson,  &c.  &e, 

"Bear  Sir:  Your  letter  was  recei\ed  uu  Saturday,  and 
brought  with  it  a  sense  of  responsibility  that,  but  for  the  throne 


30  DR.     GRANT     AND     T II  K 

of  grace,  had  been  insupportable.  I  am  more  than  ever  .sensi- 
ble that  my  strength  and  wisdom  must  come  from  God.  0,  for 
the  guidance  of  his  spirit!  May  its  holy,  life-giving  influence  fit 
me  for  his  service  !  It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  the  Lord 
would  make  me  wholly  his,  that  I  may  have  no  wish  but  to  do 
his  will.  May  that  be  my  meat  and  drink,  and  I  be  enabled  in 
all  things  to  glorify  his  holy  name  ! 

I  have  much  to  do  before  I  shall  be  ready  to  leave.  But  I 
have  no  doubt  but  the  Lord  will  provide  all  that  I  want.  Some 
pecuniary  loss  may  attend  so  speedy  a  settlement  of  my  affairs 
[he  had  been  requested  to  be  ready  to  sail  at  an  early  date] ;  but 
I  trust  not  so  serious  as  to  delay  my  departure,  for  which  I 
shall  prepare  as  soon  as  possible." 

Not  the  least  important  part  of  his  preparation  was  still  to  be 
made,  in  the  selection  of  a  companion  to  aid  and  cheer  him  in 
his  missionary  toil.  If  the  experience  of  modern  missions  ]ias 
settled  anything,  it  has  settled  the  principle  that  a  good  wife  is 
essential  to  the  usefulness,  and  even  the  continued  life,  of  the 
missionary.  Tlie  heathen  themselves  have  noticed  that  he  who 
is  alone  is  easily  discouraged,  and  led  to  abandon  his  post.  It 
has  been  well  said,  "  No  inan  ought  to  go  as  a  missionary  w^heie 
woman  cannot,"  —  so  necessary  is  her  presence,  not  only  to  his 
cheerful  endurance,  but  also  to  his  success.  For,  however  a 
man  may  exhibit  the  fruits  of  piety  in  the  individual,  without  a 
companion  he  can  never  furnish  the  heathen  with  what  they 
need  more  than  all,  —  the  sight  of  a  Christian  ianiily  exempli- 
fying the  application  of  religion  in  all  its  relations.  This  is 
needed,  both  to  convince  enemies  of  the  excellence  of  Christi- 
anity, and  to  guide  the  young  convert  in  the  regulation  of  his 
own  life  at  home.  In  many  countries  woman  alone  has  access 
to  her  own  sex,  and  without  her  the}^  are  not  only  unblest  them- 
selves, but  active  opponents  to  all  efforts  for  the  benefit  of  the  men. 
Some  missionaries  have  found,  to  their  cost,  that  if  the  influence 


3I0UNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  31 

of  woman  in  Christian  lands  is  powerful  for  good,  that  same 
influence  1  )ses  none  of  its  power  when  it  is  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  prince  of  darkness.  It  is  impossible  to  regenerate 
connnunitj  while  woman  is  left  in  the  degradation  of  heathen- 
ism. Her  influence  at  home  is  often  more  than  a  match  for  the 
missionary  in  his  chapel.  But,  elevated  by  the  efforts  of  her 
own  sex,  she  becomes  one  of  the  most  efficient  co-laborers  in  the 
missionary  work. 

True,  self-denial,  and,  in  some  cases,  exposure  to  danger,  is 
required  of  the  woman  who  would  engage  in  the  work.  But  is 
it  not  also  required  of  the  man  ;  and  has  not  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  in  every  age  been  built  up  by  the  sufferings  of  his  follow- 
Qrs  of  either  sex  ?  Are  there  no  women  among  the  noble  army 
of  martyrs  ?  None  among  those  who  toil  and  suffer  at  home, 
waiting  for  their  recompense  till  the  day  of  the  Lord  ? 

It  deserves  to  be  noticed,  too,  that  the  average  length  of  the 
missionary  life  of  woman,  even  in  this  incipient  period  of  mis- 
sions, when  so  much  of  the  hardships  of  the  pioneer  have  been 
encountered,  has  been  longer  than  that  of  the  stronger  sex  ;  and 
will  not  the  comparison  be  much  more  favorable  hereafter,  in 
what  some  would  call  her  more  appropriate  work  of  improving 
the  little  openings  in  the  forest  made  by  those  who  have  gone 
before  ?  Even  in  Mosul,  where,  as  we  shall  see,  so  many  died, 
the  facts,  instead  of  discouraging  woman  from  engaging  in  the 
work,  encourage  her  to  go  forward ;  for,  while  out  of  five  men 
one  only  survives,  only  two  women  died  out  of  three,  and  that 
third  is  still  in  the  field,  while  the  survivor  of  the  stronger  sex 
is  unable  to  resume  his  labors. 

It  is  written,  "  Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing,  and 
obtaineth  favor  of  the  Lord."  This  was  so  eminently  true  in 
the  case  of  Dr.  Grant,  as  to  justify  a  somev,diat  di^tailed  account 
of  the  partner  cf  his  missionary  life. 

Miss  Judith  S.  Campbell,  the  daughter  of  Erastus  Lathrop 
and  Judith  Crofts,  was  born  in  Puitland,  New  York,  on  the  12th 


32  D  R  .     r,  11  ANT     AND     THE 

of  Januaiy,  1S14,  and  was  thus  about  seven  years  ^^ouugcr  than 
lier  future  husband.  AVhen  only  three  days  old  her  mother 
died,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  months  she  was  adopted  by  her 
mother's  sister,  Sabrina,  wife  of  William  Campbell,  M.D,,  of 
Cherry  Valley,  in  the  same  state.  She  was  just  the  hxdy  an}'' 
one  would  have  selected  to  train  up  a  missionary.  Like  the 
parents  of  Dr.  Grant  and  his  tirst  wife,  she  too  was  from  Con- 
necticut. She  was  a  woman  of  strong  mind,  well  informed,  and 
when  converted  entered  with  her  whole  heart  into  the  work  of 
doing  good.  The  better  to  fit  herself  for  this,  she  read  medical 
])ooks,  and  became  such  an  adept  in  the  care  of  the  sick  that 
some  of  the  most  resi^ectable  physicians  often  consulted  her 
when  they  found  her  at  the  bedside  of  their  patients.  Her 
services  to  the  poor  in  this  way  Vv'cre  unremitting.  "  Perhaps 
no  woman  of  the  age,"  says  one  who  knev/  her,  "  visited  the  sick 
more  than  she  did."  She  was  also  deeply  interested  in  the 
missionary  v\'ork,  and  prayed  much  that  her  daughter  might  have 
grace  to  engage  in  it.  Nor  did  she  pray  onlj^,  but  also  edu- 
cated her  diligently  for  that  end.  Indefatigable  herself  in  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge,  and  equally  so  in  using  it  for  the  good  of 
others,  she  infused  her  own  spirit  into  her  charge.  She  early 
trained  her  to  habits  of  self-denial  for  the  cause  of  Christ. 
"When  Judith  was  but  seven  years  of  age,  a  box  was  prepared 
by  the  ladies  of  Cherry  Yalley  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart,  then 
leaving  an  adjoining  town  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  This  was 
done  mostly  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Campbell,  and,  to  interest  her 
daughter  in  the  cause,  she  desired  her  to  contribute  a  favorite 
pair  of  mittens.  It  cost  a  struggle,  but  she  gave  them,  and 
from  that  hour  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  work.  Thenceforth 
each  number  of  the  Missionary  Herald  was  perused  vvith  jo}^  and 
even  then  she  looked  forward  with  groat  delight  to  the  time 
when  she  might  engage  personallj'  in  the  work.  Long  after,  in 
Persia,  she  traced  all  her  attachment  to  the  cause  back  to  this 
little  incident,  and  the  hallowed  influence  of  her  mother.     Such 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  ^      33 

things  show  how  aiissioiiaries  are  made.  They  do  not  grow  up 
by  chance,  —  they  arc  the  result  of  the  prayers  and  Christian 
training  of  pious  parents,  and  especially  spiritually-minded 
mothers.  On  her  death-bed  Mrs.  Grant  testified  to  this  parental 
faithfulness,  when  she  said,  "  What  might  I  have  been  but  for  a 
pious  mother  !  Under  God,  I  owe  everything  to  my  mother.'* 
That  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  built  of  materials  pre- 
pared beforehand  by  godly  parents  is  the  temple  most  advan- 
tageously set  over  against  the  temple  of  idols. 

The  intellect  of  Miss  Campbell,  naturally  strong,  was  well 
cultivated,  and  that  with  express  reference  to  her  future  work. 
It  was  symmetrically  developed,  and  very  early  showed  a  matu- 
rity that  fitted  her  to  adorn  any  sphere  ^f  woman's  activity. 
Her  father  gave  her  the  most  thorough  education  our  schools 
then  afforded.  She  early  applied  herself  to  mathematics,  and 
so  well  had  she  studied  the  Latin  and  Greek,  that  in  Persia  she 
was  able  to  study  the  Syriac  by  the  aid  of  Latin  lexicons  and 
grammars,  and  turn  to  her  Greek  Testament  for  the  elucidation 
of  more  difficult  passages.  In  respect  to  disposition,  she  is  com- 
mended, by  all  who  knew  her,  as  frank  and  artless,  yet  discreet, 
with  a  kindness  that  knew  no  limits ;  social,  gentle,  and  full  of 
sympathy  for  others  in  affliction,  while  remarkably  patient 
.under  her  own.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  by  such  a  rare  com- 
bination of  excellences,  when  we  learn  that  each  was  heightened 
by,  as  well  as  rooted  in,  an  affectionate  devotion  to  Christ. 
She  connected  herself  with  the  church  April  5th,  1831,  a  day 
recorded  in  her  journal  as  one  of  the  most  delightful  she  ever 
knew.  Her  piety  was  of  that  rare  type  at  once  deep  and  unosten- 
tatious; uniform,  yet  uniformly  active  and  practical.  She  was 
already  accepted  by  the  Board  when  Dr.  Grant  became  acquainted 
with  her.  He  first  makes  mention  of  her  in  the  following  letter 
to  Dr.  Anderson,  dated  February  25,  1835  : 

u^  #  #  #  ^Ye  .^YQ  most  anxious  to  pursue  the  course  that  will 
best  subserv<'  the  cause  so  near  our  hearts.     I  say  we,  for  you 


34  DR.     G  R  ANT     AND     T 11  E 

will  rejoice  to  learn  that  a  kind  Providence  has  united  with  mine 
the  heart  of  a  joung  lady  of  most  precious  spirit,  whose  ardent 
piety,  good  health  and  highly  cultivated  intellect,  fit  her  for  ex- 
tensive usefulness.  She  reads  Latin  and  Greek,  and  speaks 
French ;  and,  though  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  has  long  been 
an  active  servant  of  her  Ixedecmer.  Ilcr  vrarin  heart  has  for 
yc^rs  3^carned  over  the  millions  who  have  none  to  tell  them  of 
his  love." 

She  thus  writes  to  her  brother,  March  10  : 

u  -^  #  ^;<  ^  You  know,  dear  brother,  how  much  I  have  thought  of 
being  a  missionary,  and  how  I  have  prayed  to  know  my  duty  in 
the  matter.  Hitherto  the  way  has  seemed  hedged  up  ;  but  a  door 
is  now  opened,  and  I  am  about  to  enter  it.  Yes,  my  dear,  dear 
brother,  I  expect  soon  to  leave  these  loved  familiar  scenes  for 
Persia.  The  interesting  ceremony  that  unites  me  with  Dr.  Grrant 
takes  place  on  Monday,  April  G.  ^  ^  ^  ^  Papa  feels  very  much 
about  my  going ;  still  he  does  not  oppose.  AYhen  I  look  at  the 
importance  of  the  enterprise,  and  its  bearing  on  the  cause  of 
Christ,  I  am  dismayed  at  my  own  insufficienc3\  But  I  trust  my 
hope  is  in  God.  In  Jehovah  alone  is  everlasting  strength. 
In  him  all  fulness  dwells.  I  wish  you  could  become  acquainted 
with  ])r.  Grant,  for  I  am  sure  you  would  like  him.  He  has 
been  an  elder  in  Mr.  Aikin's  church  three  or  four  years,  and 
bears  the  character  of  ^tz  eminent  and  devoted  CJiristiayi.^'' 

These  letters  show  that  love  to  Christ  in  each  was  the  founda- 
tion of  their  attachment  to  one  another,  and  we  need  not  won- 
der if  such  an  affection  was  fruitful  in  happiness.  The  "  inter- 
esting ceremony  "  took  place  on  the  appointed  day,  and  they 
immediately  set  about  preparations  for  departure. 

This  was  attended  with  peculiar  trials.  Other  missionaries 
leave  home  and  friends,  but  they  leave  before  they  have  formed 
attachments  in  an  attractive  sphere  of  usefulness.  A  large 
circle  of  friends  did  all  in  their  power  to  induce  Dr.  Grant  to 


.MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  'I'  O  It  TANS.  35 

remain.  His  own  feelings  were  strongly  altaclicd  to  tlicm. 
But  the  foreign  field  needs  no  man  who  will  not  be  missed 
at  home.  xVnd  he  who  has  not  such  ardent  devotion  to  the 
work  as  will  tear  him  away  from  everything  else  need  not  look 
for  happiness  in  it,  especially  in  such  a  field  as  lay  before  Dr. 
Grant. 

The  leaving  his  two  little  sons  v/as  a  far  severer  trial,  as  is 
evident  from  letters  written  both  at  this  time  and  afterwards. 
But  Providence  had  provided  for  them  an  excellent  home,  with 
M^'.  Smith,  of  Utica,  a  kind  friend  and  godly  man,  who  promised 
to  make  up,  so  ftir  as  another  can,  for  the  absence  of  their  own 
aflectionate  parent. 

They  left  Utica  on  the  27th  of  April,  where  Dr.  Grant  had 
been  staying  for  some  time  in  the  family  of  Pvev.  Mr.  Crane. 
And  now  a  son  of  Mr.  Crane,  who  helped  to  pack  their  boxes 
and  accompanied  them  to  the  packet-boat,  —  there  was  no  rail- 
road then,  —  is  gone,  with  his  excellent  companion,  to  labor  in 
the  very  field  opened  by  the  toil  and  peril  of  Dr.  Grant.  Thus, 
as  the  Master  calls  one  servant  home,  he  sends  forth  others  to 
carry  on  his  work. 

The  feelings  of  Dr.  Grant,  ait  this  time,  may  be  gathered  from 
a  note  written  to  his  father  the  next  day  at  Albany. 

"  ^  ^  #  >X:  Trying  as  it  has  been  to  part  from  our  dear,  dear 
friends,  we  have  been  sustained,  by  the  unfailing  grace  of  God. 
I  ti-ust  the  trial  will  be  sanctified  to  us  all,  and  that  we  shall  not 
be  forgotten  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Our  hope  is  in  God.  May 
we  live  near  him,  and  be  guided  by  his  spirit ! " 

They  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  brig  Angola,  May  11th,  with 
Miss  Williams,  from  East  Hartford,  Connecticut,  who  was  on 
her  way  to  join  the  Syrian  mission,  at  Beirut. 


CHAPTER    III. 

SMYRNA CONSTANTINOPLE VOYAGE    TO    TREBIZOND JOURNEY    TO   PER 

SIA MEETING  WITIP  MR.   PERKINS PASS    OF    DAKAR FORTIFIED    CAMP 

TABRIZ. 

Dr.  Grant  first  set  foot  iii  Asia  June  28,  1835,  after  a 
pleasant  passage  of  fort j-eight  days.  They  landed  at  Smyrna, 
and  spent  four  or  five  days  with  the  apostolic  Mr.  Temple,  who, 
in  the  absence  of  numbers  to  share  it  with  him,  seemed  to  have 
inherited  an  unusual  portion  of  the  spirit  of  the  beloved  dis- 
ciple who  once  labored  there,  —  a  better  title  to  the  epithet 
"  apostolic  "  than  was  ever  conferred  by  mitred  heads.  He, 
too,  has  joined  his  guests  in  that  blessed  world,  on  whoso 
borders  he  used  to  live  while  here.  None  was  ever  welcomed 
under  his  hospitable  roof  in  whose  memory  precious  thoughts 
of  Christ  and  heaven  are  not  recalled  by  the  very  mention  of 
his  name.  Dr.  Grant's  state  of  mind  while  here  may  be 
learned  from  a  single  paragraph  of  his  first  letter  to  Dr.  An- 
derson from  abroad,  dated  at  Smyrna,  July  1st : 

"  Since  leaving  Boston  we  have  constantly  experienced  the 
rich  mercies  of  our  covenant  God,  For  this  we  desire  that 
gratitude  which  is  evinced  by  a  cheerful  obedience  to  his  whole 
will,  and  an  unwavering  trust  in  all  his  promises." 

They  left  for  Constantinople  July  2,  in  the  Maria  Doro- 
thea, one  of  'the  Austrian  steamers,  then  just  introduced  into 
the  Mediterranean.  Her  commander  was  Captain  Ford,  an 
intelligent  Englishman,  of  whose  kindness  more  than  one  mis- 
sionary can   speak  with  grateful  recollection.     They  reached 


DR.     G  II  A  N  T      AND      THE     N  E  S  T  C  H  I  A  N  S  .  37 

Constantinople  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  and  were  soon  at 
home  with  the  couilterpart  of  their  host  at  Smyrna,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Goodell.     Tlieir  time  passed  pleasantly  while  waiting  for 
a  vessel  to  Trebizond ;  and,  in  their  own  words,  they  "  became 
ardently  attached  to  the  beloved  missionaries  residing  there." 
Here,  too,  they  found  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merrick,  who  had   spent 
some  six  months  in  the  study  of  Turkish,  preparatory  to  labor 
among   the   Mohammedans    of  Persia,  and  was   now  ready  to 
accompany  them  to  Tabriz.     Besides  the  luxury  of  Christian 
fellowship,  Dr.  Grant  here   enjoyed  what  was  to  him   a   still 
greater  luxury,  —  the  privilege  of  doing  good.     He  was  called 
to  prescribe  for  several  of  the  Armenian  bankers,  —  among 
others,  Janik  Agha,  a  leader  among  them^,  with  whom  the  mis- 
sionaries had  in  vain  sought  an  acquaintance,  till  thus  introduced 
by  Dr.  Grant.     He  was  now  in  his  element ;  and,  as  his  eye  took 
in  the  vastness  and  the  destitution  of  the  field,  he  writes  :     "  If 
I  ever  had  any  misgivings  for  leaving  a  prosperous  business,  very 
dear  friends,  and,  more  than  all,  for  breaking  away  from  two 
idolized  sons,  now  that  I  see  the  work  to  be  done,  I  can  no  longer 
doubt  where  duty  calls."    The  unanimous  testimony  of  both  mis- 
sionaries and  native  converts  of  the  great  good  that  might  be 
done  by  a  physician,  in  preparing  the  v\^ay  for  the  preacher,  was 
so  corroborated  by  what  he  saw,  that  he  adds,  "  I  have  not  one 
regret  for  all  I  have  left.     To  wear  out  life  in  this  glorious 
work  is  far,/ar  dearer  than  to  enjoy  the  society  of  friends, 
however  beloved ;  and  it  is  only  while  obeying  God  that  I  can 
look  up  for  his  blessing  on  my  children,  and  sweetly  commend 
them  to  his  care."     This  last  utterance  of  his  strong  faith  tells 
the  secret  of  his  "perfect  peace"  in  subsequent  afflictions  and 
distresses. 

That  he  could  take  in  at  a  glance  the  true  relations  of  things, 

will  appear  from  his    description   of  the  qualifications  of  a 

missionary-physician  for  such  a  place  as  Constantinople.     "  He 

must,"  says  he,  "  be  skilful ;  for  his  popularity  will  depend  on 

4 


38  L  11 .      0  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

his  success  in  cases  that  have  baffled  those  already  on  1ho 
ground.  He  must. have  in-actical  experience;  for  both  disease 
and  its  treatment  are  so  aflected  by  diiferencc  of  climate  that  he 
cannot  depend  altogether  upon  books.  He  must  not  only  be 
able  to  rel}'  on  himself,  but  to  stand  alone  amid  the  opposition 
of  other  physicians  jealous  of  his  success;  and  last,  not  least, 
he  must  have  tried  piety,  to  stand  firm  amid  the  many  tempt- 
ations round  about  him." 

He  had  many  urgent  invitations,  from  leading  Armenians,  to 
remain  in  Constantinople;  and  it  was  no  narrow  field  of  useful- 
ness to  which  they  called  him.  But  his  heart  was  already  too 
warmly  attached  to  the  Nestorians  to  let  go  its  hold.  In  his 
first  letter  to  Mr.  Perkins,  then  in  Tabriz,  written  July  22,  he 
says  :  "  I  have  thought  of  you  with  so  much  interest  that  I 
cannot  refrain  from  introducing  myself  and  Mrs.  Grant  by  the 
Ta'tar  (post-rider)  who  leaves  to-morrow.  I  regret  we  cannot 
go  with  him  in  person ;  but  hope,  ere  long,  to  exchange  the 
cordial  embrace.  0,  how  anxiously  have  we  looked  to  the  hour 
when  we  may  unite  in  your  labor  of  love,  and  you  not  feel  quite 
alone !  "  Even  now,  he  cherished  plans  respecting  the  hitherto 
inaccessible  mountaineers  that  thrilled  his  soul  with  manly 
enthusiasm;  for  thus  Providence  sows,  long  beforehand,  the 
seed  of  a  future  harvest,  and  makes  robust,  by  long  and  steady 
growth,  the  zeal  that  is  to  be  called  to  perilous  undertakings. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  dwell  on  the  wonders  of  Constanti- 
nople, to  go  with  Mrs.  Grant  into  xirmenian  houses,  —  the  very 
climax  of  neatness,  —  observe  their  strange  customs,  and  par- 
take of  their  oriental  hospitality ;  or  accompany  them  in  a 
caique  along  the  peerless  Bosphorus,  or  up  the  Golden  Horn, 
,  by  the  Arsenal,  the  old  palaceof  Constantine.  and  the  lovely 
groves  and  minarets  of  Eiyoob,  to  the  Valley  of  Sweet  Waters  ; 
or  ramble  with  them  over  the  hills  of  Bebe  t,  or  among  the 
dark  cypresses  of  Scutari,  that  shade  the  dust  of  millions.  It 
would  be  pleasant,  too,  to  go  with  them  to  Agia  Sophia,  or  the 


,!' I ■ -i'l  m  ■ "; 


Ji;'i';'k 


m 


''ifn'lliil 


J^^\\>\ 


1 1 


31  0  U  N  T  A  I  X     N  E  S  T  0  11  TANS.  41 

villa  of  our  representative  at  St.  Stefaiio.  But,  like  them,  -vvc, 
too,  must  advance  still  east  from  that  oriental  metropolis.  The 
little  schooner,  that  first  left  their  own  land  on  an  unholy  errand 
to  Africa,  and  more  recently  carried  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins  to 
Trebizond,  is  now  tugging  at  her  anchors,  as  if  impatient  by 
another  errand  of  mercy  to  atone  for  former  crimes  ;  and  on 
the  19th  of  August  they  are  on  the  way  again  to  their  still 
distant  home.  One  of  the  passengers  —  Colonel  Burgess,  of 
Tabriz  —  came  on  board  hardly  able  to  walk ;  and  thus  Dr. 
Grant  had  an  opportunity  to  do  good  to  one  who  rendered 
them  essential  aid  on  their  journey,  and  ever  after  showed  no 
little  kindness  to  the  mission.  For  eleven  days  they  enjoyed 
the  fine  accommodations  of  the  "  Shah,"  and  the  attentions  of 
an  excellent  captain,  and  landed  at  Trebizond  on  the  oOth. 
Here  they  formed  an  acquaintance  with  the  European  consuls, 
of  much -service  to  them  afterwards.  They  were  also  favored 
with  an  introduction  to  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  Henry  Ellis, 
English  ambassador  to  Persia,  who  also  did  all  in  his  power  to 
aid  them.  He  even  requested  them  to  apply  to  him  for  any 
assistance  he  might  be  able  to  render  them,  afterwards,  at 
Oroomiah  ;  so  that  the  three  pleasant  weeks  they  were  detained, 
for  wairt  of  horses,  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson,  then 
stationed  there,  may  be  classed  among  those  things  to  observe 
which  is  to  know  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord. 

Trebizond,  situated  directly  on  the  sea,  its  houses  half  hid 
den  in  fruit-trees,  and  the  rugged  mountains  rising  high  in  the 
background,  was  thought  by  Mrs.  Grant  to  be  the  most  beau- 
tiful place  she  had  seen  in  the  East.  The  accompanying  sketch 
of  the  town,  as  viewed  from  the  sea  may  serve  to  justify  her 
taste. 

There  was  so  much  prejudice,  at  that  time,  against  the  mis- 
sionaries residing  here,  that  they  had  scarcely  any  intercourse 
with  the  people.  As  he  saw  how  easily  a  pious  physician 
might   remove  it,  Dr.  Grant  could  hardly  refrain  from  tears 


42  Dll.     Gil  ANT     AND     THE 

while  he  thought  of  the  multitudes  at  home  struggling  for 
places,  who  might  here  accomplish  so  much  for  Christ. 

On  the  17th  of  September  they  commenced  their  journey, 
overland,  to  Tahriz,  —  having,  after  so  long  delay,  succeeded 
in  securing  a  sufficient  number  of  horses  for  the  journey. 
Besides  Mr.  Merrick,  they  had  with  them  an  interpreter,  and 
three  Nestorians,  sent  on  to  meet  them  by  Mr.  Perkins.  The 
first  night  they  pitched  their  tent  in  a  retired  valley,  nine 
iiiles  from  the  city,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  Trebizond. 
They  had  nov>^  left  behind  them  the  comforts  of  civilization,  and 
were  just  stepping  into  the  privations  and  perils  so  long  antici- 
pated. Woman's  timid  apprehensions  were  soothed  by  man's 
more  fearless  self-reliance;  yet,  as  neither  know  the  things 
that  shall  befall  them,  together  they  cast  their  burdens  on  the 
Lord.  Ere  they  retire  to  rest  they  commend  themselves,  dear 
friends  at  home,  and  the  cause  of  one  dearer  than  all,  to  his 
own  grace  and  care.  It  was  a  place  not  soon  to  be  forgotten  ; 
and  when,  six  years  after,  the  bereaved  husband  passed  it  alone, 
on  a  yet  more  perilous  journey,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
strong  heart  bowed  under  the  thronging  memories  of  the  past  ? 

Next  day  their  road,  or,  rather,  path,  —  for  it  was  barely 
wide  enough  for  the  passage  of  a  single  animal, —  led  along 
the  edge  of  dizzy  precipices  on  the  steep  sides  of  the  mountains. 
Some  of  their  horses  fell  in  the  narrowest  places,  and  one  was 
only  saved  by  a  tree  from  plunging  headlong  into  the  torrent 
far  below.  Mrs.  Grant  rode  safely  in  a  sort  of  arm-chair,  the 
Nestorians  walking  by  her  side,  to  steady  it  where  there  was 
any  danger. 

As  the  Sabbath  was  too  cold  and  wet  for  them  to  pitch  their 
tent,  they  spent  the  day  in  a  khan,  without  floor  or  window. 
The  top  of  the  rough  walls  of  stone  and  mud  was  level,  on  three 
sides,  with  the  ground.  They  had  neither  chair  nor  table ;  but 
they  spread  their  mattresses  on  two  piles  of  leaves,  in  the  cor- 
nn-s  nearest  the  lire,  and  sat,  surrounded  by  their  baggage, 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11  I  A  N  S  .  43 

piles  of  fire-wood,  and  smoking  visitors.  It  was  their  first 
introduction  to  rural  life  in  the  East;  and,  rough  as  it  was.  Dr. 

Grant  writes,    "  Dear  J not  only  bears  her  privations 

with  fortitude,  but  seems  really  happier  than  ever  before." 
And,  further  on,  where  they  slept  in  the  same  room  with  the 
cows  and  horses,  she  writes  herself  that  she  "  never  slept  more 
comfortably  in  her  life." 

At  Balahor,  on  the  22d,  they  were  agreeably  surprised  by 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Perkins,  who  had  come  from  Tabriz  in  order 
to  spare  them,  if  possible,  the  repetition  of  some  of  the  troubles 
that  made  his  journey  so  distressing.  He  says  of  this  meeting, 
in  his  sermon  at  the  funeral  of  Mrs.  Grant :  "  My  first  acquaint- 
ance with  her  was  made  in  a  stable,  amid  the  snowy  mount- 
ains of  Asia  Minor.  The  promptitude  wdth  which  she  came 
to  our  help,  after  hearing  of  the  sufferings  of  Mrs.  Perkins  on 
the  way,  had  already  endeared  her  to  our  hearts.  Her  cheer- 
ful and  intelligent  countenance,  her  kind  and  artless  manners, 
made  a  very  pleasing  impression  on  my  mind,  —  one  which 
more  than  three  years'  acquaintance,  in  the  same  yard,  and 
almost  in  the  same  dwelling,  has  only  confirmed." 

At  Erzroom,  where  they  arrived  on  the  26th,  —  four  years 
before  a  missionary  station  was  established  there,  —  they 
were  entertained  by  Messrs.  Abbot  and  Zohrab,  English  mer- 
chants in  that  place,  who  showed  them  every  attention  in 
their  power  till  they  left  again,  on  the  29th.  They  crossed  tlic 
Aras  next  day,  on  a  stone  bridge  of  seven  arches ;  and,  on  the 
Jst  of  October,  started,  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  travelled 
thirteen  hours,  so  as  to  keep  under  the  protection  of  the  cara- 
van of  Col.  Burgess,  in  that  dangerous  part  of  the  road.  Dr. 
Grant  was  so  exhausted  by  vomiting  and  pain,  during  the  night, 
that  he  lay  down  to  rest  a  few  moments,  about  three  o'clock, 
and  was  surprised,  on  waking,  to  find  he  had  slept  till 
daybreak,  and  was  entirely  alone.  Providentially,  he  had 
retained  hold  of  the  bridle,  and,  by  dint  of  hard  riding,  he 
4-* 


44  DK.    Gil  ANT     AND:   THE 

overtook  the  caravan  just  as  they  -were  detaching  a  party  to 
search  for  him.  lie  then  rode  till  one  o'clock,  and  was  soon 
quite  restored  by  food  and  rest.  This  was  on  the  mountain- 
pass  of  Dahar,  of  which  v/e  shall  hear  again.  They  generally 
rose  about  two  o'clock ;  and  at  that  early  hour  the  cold,  bracing 
air,  and  the  soft  beauty  of  an  oriental  sky,  combined  to  render 
the  ride  delightful.  On  this  part  of  the  journey,  the  boxes  and 
bales  were  regularly  arranged,  at  night,  in  a  hollow  square, 
guards  were  stationed,  and  the  tents  pitched  in  the  middle  of 
this  extemporaneous  fort ;  and,  in  the  day-time,  an  armed  train, 
with  six  hundred  horses  and  some  scores  of  donkeys,  besides  a 
mounted  guard  of  soldiers,  seemed  secure  from  the  attacks  of 
any  ordinary  banditti.  Though  the  Kurds  had,  just  before, 
been  very  troublesome,  they  passed  hundreds  of  their  black 
tents  unmolested. 

They  had  a  fine  view  of  Ararat  and  its  perpetual  snows  as 
they  passed  it,  some  distance  to  the  south;  but  were  distressed 
to  find  New  England  rum  well  known  where  New  England 
piety  had  not  been  heard  of.  Eighteen  barrels  preceded  them 
into  Persia,  —  no  very  fitting  "avant-courier"  for  missionaries, 
however  loudly  it  called  for  their  coming.  Having  travelled 
six  hundred  miles  in  twenty-eight  days,  —  four  of  which  they 
rested,  —  they  arrived  at  Tabriz  on  the  morning  of  October 
15th,  —  a  much  shorter  time  than  the  journey  had  eVer  been 
performed  by  a  lady  before.  At  Coustantinople  and  Trebizoud 
they  had  found  the  plague.  Here  the  cholera  was  now  raging ; 
but  the  same  hand  that  preserved  them  from  the  one  had 
kept  Mrs.  Perkins  from  the  other,  and  soon  all  were  quietly 
and  pleasantly  quartered  in  the  city.  They  enjoyed  delight- 
ful Christian  intercourse  with  Dr.  Riach,  physician  to  the 
English  embassy,  who  was  ever  after  a  warm  friend  of  Dr. 
Grant  and  the  mission.  Sir  Henry  Ellis,  among  other  favors, 
p-oposed  that  Mr.  Perkins  and  Dr.  Grant  should  apply  for 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  45 

]>iitish  protection;  and,  accordingly,  furnished  them  with  pass- 
port!-!, in  both  English  and  Persian. 

But  they  were  not  yet  at  home,  —  Oroomiah  was  still  more 
than  one  hm.dred  miles  distant.  Mr.  Perkins,  as  yet  unac- 
(juainted  with  the  language,  had  deemed  it  imprudent  to  remove 
there  alone  ;  and  now,  as  it  was  thought  a  physician  would  meet 
with  a  more  favorable  reception  than  a  clergyman,  and  Dr. 
Grant,  already  called  to  prescribe  for  the  Governor  of  Tabriz, 
had  received  from  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Governor 
of  Oroomiah,  he  was  sent  to  secure  a  house,  and  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  commencement  of  the  mission. 

He  left,  accordingly,  on  the  22d,  just  a  week  after  his  arrival. 
On  the  way  he  enjoyed  the  society  of  IMr.  Hoernle  and  another 
(German  missionarj^,  going  to  ascertain  the  feasibility  of  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Kurds.  They  reached  Gavalan,  the  residence 
of  Mar  Yohanna,  on.  the  26th,  and  next  day  he  accompanied 
them  to  Oroomiah. 

On  their  arrival,  the  governor  provided  them  lodgings,  and 
expressed  a  wish  to  see  them  next  morning.  They  accordingly 
waited  on  him,  and  sat  down  on  their  heels,  with  the  rest  of  the 
company,  in  true  Persian  style.  The  governor  expressed  great 
satisfaction  at  the  arrival  of  a  physician,  and  some  ten  of  the 
nobility  present  did  the  same.  The  doctor,  willing  to  put  this 
satisfaction  to  the  test,  requested  his  aid  in  finding  a  suitable  res- 
idence ;  and  at  once  he  sent  his  principal  attendant  to  show  him 
several,  so  that  in  less  than  a  week  he  had  secured  a  very  pleas- 
ant house,  on  the  borders  of  the  Moslem  and  Nestorian  quarters 
of  the  city.  The  location  is' high,  and,  for  that  city,  healthy.  It 
is  near  a  gate,  that  opens  into  pleasant  gardens ;  and  from  Per- 
sian gardens  we  get  our  word  Paradise,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
beauties  that  make  up  the  idea.  The  house  itself  had  a  garden 
attached,  and  a  court,  shaded  with  trees,  where  ladies  could  enjoy 
the  air,  vfithout  the  annoying  publicity  of  walking  through  an 
oriental  city.     The  whole  is  protected  by  a  high  mud  wall ;  and, 


46  DR.     GRANT     AND    THE     NESTOR  I  ANS. 

with  such  additions  as  the  accommodation  of  more  families 
required,  continues  to  this  day  the  mission  premises,  —  thus 
evincing  the  wisdom  of  the  first  selection. 

The  governor  sent  carpets  to  furnish  the  temporary  abode 
of  the  missionaries,  and  frequent  supplies  of  fruit,  and  even 
admitted  them  to  the  honor  of  a  private  interview.  The 
Nestorians  were  not  behindliand  in  their  demonstrations  of 
interest;  and  their  numerous  applications  for  medicine,  while 
they  gave  our  friend  a  foretaste  of  what  was  to  come,  greatly 
increased  the  iitterest  he  already  felt  in  doing  them  good.  When 
things  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  be  ready  for  the  arrival  of  the 
mission  families.  Dr.  Grant  returned  to  Tabriz,  where  he  arrived 
again  on  November  6. 

But,  before  going  back  with  them  to  their  future  home,  let  us 
take  a  brief  view  of  the  field  before  them. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


TIIK     NESTORIANS ORIGIN     OF     THEIR     CHURCH  —  EARLY     HISTORY     AKD 

MISSIONARY    ENTERrBISB LATER   HISTORY DR.     GRANT'S     THEORY     OF 

THEIR    JEWI&H   ORIGIN. 


Christianity  seems  to  have  been  introduced  into  Persia  soon 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  Whether  the  Magi  were 
from  thence  may  be  disputed  (the  Nestorian  tablet  of  Singan  Fu, 
in  China,  calls  them  Persians),  but  none  can  deny  that  Parthians, 
Medes  and  Elamites,  witnessed  the  wonders  of  Pentecost;  and  we 
can  hardly  suppose  that  on  their  return  they  would  not  speak  of 
what  they  had  seen  and  heard,  or  that  none  of  those  who  heard 
them  were  converted  to  the  faith.  The  Roman  martyrology 
tells  of  Marius,  a  Persian  noble,  and  his  wife  Martha,  suffering 
martyrdom  under  Claudius,  in  53  a.  d.  If,  then,  emigrants 
from  thence  were  Christians,  may  not  some  who  remained  at 
home  have  been  the  same  ?  But  scarce  any  record  of  Persian 
piety  in  those  days  has  come  down  to  us. 

The  churches  in  the  East  generally  claim  Thomas  as  tlicii 
apostle ;  and  might  not  the  same  facilities  of  communication 
that  brought  to  Jerusalem  proselytes  from  Parthia  and  Media 
carry  back  an  apostle  to  those  countries,  or  even  beyond  them  ? 
The  activity  of  apostles  was  not  less  than  that  of  others.  The 
love  of  Christ  constrained  them  to  go  further  and  do  more 
than  other  men.  The  fact,  too,  that  we  hear  so  little  of  Thomas 
in  the  region  of  the  labors  of  Peter  and  Paul,  seems  to  favor 
the  tradition  ;  for  we  cannot  suppose  that,  while  they  v/ere  so 
abundant  in  labors,  he  was  idle  in  the  work  assigned  to  him  as 


48  D  11  .     0  K  A  N  T     A  N  P     T  II  E 

well  as  to  thcrn.  That  devotion  which  was  ready  to  go  to  Judea 
to  die  with  Christ,  that  affectionate  faith  which  cried  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God,"  doubtless  produced  appropriate  fruit.  In 
the  absence  of  proof  to  the  contrary,  mn^  we  not  credit  the 
universal  testimony  of  the  Eastern  church  ?  Thomas,  then,  and 
possibly  Bartholomew,  from  among  the  apostles,  and  Adeus  from 
among  the  seventy,  were  the  earliest  missionaries  to  the  east  of 
Palestine.  Those  present  at  Pentecost  must  have  wonderfully 
prepared  the  way,  if  they  did  not  furnish  active  coadjutors. 
Thus  often  does  the  Lord  of  missions  make  all  ready  to  the 
hand  of  his  servants  beforehand,  as  well  as  grant  them  his 
immediate  presence. 

Mares,  a  Jew  and  a  disciple  of  Adeus,  founded  the  bishopric 
of  Seleucia.  He  died  in  82  a.  d.,  and  Abres,  said  to  belong  to 
the  family  of  Joseph,  the  reputed  father  of  our  Saviour,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  office.  The  eighth  in  succession,  Achadabues,  son 
of  the  seventh,  according  to  Mares,  and  also  said  to  be  of  the 
family  of  Joseph,  shows  that  in  those  days,  at  least,  marriage 
was  still  "  honorable  in  all."  The  next  in  order,  Schiachlupha, 
instead  of  being  ordained  at  Jerusalem  or  Antioch,  and  sent 
thence  to  Seleucia,  was  ordained  on  the  spot,  about  160  a.  d. 
Several  of  his  successors  suffered  martyrdom  under  Sapor, 
King  of  Persia,  with  multitudes  of  other  ecclesiastics  and 
private  Christians.  Assemani  quotes  Mares  as  saying  that 
more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  suffered  martyrdom 
in  Beth  Grarmge  alone,  soon  after  the  year  300.  But  those 
times  of  martyrdom  were  also  times  of  fearless  missionary 
enterprise.  In  256  a  bishop  was  sent  to  Busra.  The  first 
incumbent  of  Susa  was  slain  where  Nehemiah  basked  in  royal 
favor  ;  yet,  undeterred  by  his  fate,  the  line  of  succession  con- 
tinued unl)roken  till  1281.  Even  so  far  off'  as  Toos,  in  Khorassan, 
where  no  missionary  now  is  heard  of,  a  bishop  was  settled  in 
334 ;  and  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Merw  a  metropolitan  existed 
as  early  as  420.     There  must  have  been  a  large  Christian  pop- 


MOUNTAIN     N  i:  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  49 

Illation  and  many  bishops  round  about,  to  have  jiistilied  tlie 
erection  of  a  metroiDolitau  see  in  that  remote  region.  ,  Nine 
years  before  that  a  similar  see  was  established  at  Herat,  in 
Affghanistan  though  some  date  it  in  503,  and  others  as  late 
as  714. 

'  The  incumbents  of  Seleucia,  at  first  called  bishops,  were  after- 
wards called  archbishops.  Simeon,  the  eleventh  of  the  series 
who  suffered  martyrdom  in  330,  Sozomen  says,  was  the  first 
known  by  that  title,  though  the  old  Syrian  and  Greek  writers 
speak  of  bishops  only  till  after  the  thirteenth,  who  was  slain  by 
Sapor,  356.  The  catalogue  of  the  Chaldean  patriarchs  calls 
the  twenty-third,  who  died  496,  Catholicos ;  and  a  Syriac  \vriter 
gives  the  same  title  to  his  successor,  BabjKus,  elected  by  the 
followers  of  Nestorius,  now  for  the  first  time  the  majority  in 
the  Eastern  church.  Owing  to  this  difference,  the  see  now 
renounced  all  dependence  on  Antioch,  and  set  up  for  itself, 
claiming  for  its  incumbent  the  title  of  Patriarch  of  the  East, 
the  present  title  of  Mar  Shimon  ;  so  that  the  Nestorian  church 
is  really  the  ancient  church  of  Seleucia,  an  original  branch  of 
the  church  of  Antioch. 

Just  before  this,  Barsumas,  the  famous  bishop  and  teacher  of 
Nisibis,  had  diligently  disseminated  the  tenets  of  Nestorius. 
The  personal  character  of  both  him  and  Babseus  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  make  out  from  the  opposing  testimony  of  different 
writers.  All  agree  that  he  abolished  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy, 
that  with  other  corruptions  had  already  been  engrafted  on 
Christianity.  Like  a  later  reformer,  himself  set  the  example 
of  marrying  a  nun.  Babaeus  extended  this  reformation  to  the 
office  of  patriarch,  much  to  the  grief  of  the  papal  historian, 
who  records  this  return  to  apostolic  practice  with  the  lamenta- 
tion that  no  less  than  five  patriarchs  confirmed  "  this  impure 
law"  by  word  and  deed,  and  notes  the  fact  that  Silas,  the 
successor  of  Babaeus,  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  Elisha, 
the  next  incumlent  of  the  patriarchal  throne.     It  needs  a  more 


50  1)  K  .      G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

Ihoroiiglv  and  impartial  recension  of  the  original  documents  than 
has  yet  been  made  to  determine  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
change  at  this  period,  and  whether  or  no  it  were  really  a  reform- 
ation. Perhaps  some  graduate  of  the  seminary  at  Mt.  Seir 
will  do  this  service  to  the  church,  and  forever  put  to  rest  the 
foul  aspersions  of  the  papists,  whose  interest  it  is  to  misrepre- 
sent and  traduce  any  deviation  from  their  own  corruptions.  If, 
as  we  would  fain  hope,  that  was  an  honest  effort  at  reformation, 
doubtless  the  patriarchal  mansion  was  a  purer  and  happier  home 
than  it  has  been  since  its  occupants  again  sought  to  improve  the 
arrangements  of  God,  and  learned  by  sad  experience  whose  was 
the  better  plan.  •  Had  that  reformation  been  carried  out  in  other 
matters,  the  great  Reformation  had  had  an  earlier  date,  and, 
instead  of  Grermany,  had  occupied  a  centre  not  far  from  the 
original  paradise  of  the  race. 

The  change  of  name  and  external  relations,  however,  brought 
no  change  to  the  missionary  activity  of  the  church.  Cosmos 
Indicopleustes,  who  travelled  about  535  a.  d.,  says  that  then 
there  were  many  Nestorian  bishops  around  Aden,  in  Arabia, 
and  on  the  island  of  Socotra,  in  the  Indian  Sea.  Gibbon  says, 
III.  272,  according  to  this  traveller,  in  the  sixth  century,  Chris- 
tianity had  been  successively  preached  to  the  Bactrians,  Huns, 
Persians,  Indians,  Persarmenians,  Medes  and  Elamites.  The 
barbaric  churches,  from  the  Gulf  of  Persia  to  the  Caspian  Sea, 
were  almost  infinite;  and  their  recent  faith  was  conspicuous  in 
the  number  and  sanctity  of  their  monks  and  martyrs.  The  pep- 
per coast  of  Malabar,  Socotra  and  Ceylon,  were  peopled  with 
an  increasing  number  of  Christians.  Abulfida,  who  wrote  about 
1300,  tells  us  that  Socotra  was  then  inhabited  by  Nestorians, 
and  we  know  that  one  of  its  bishops  was  present  at  the'  ordina- 
tion of  the  Patriarch  Jeballaha,  in  1281. 

Damascus  had  a  Nestorian  bishop  in  628,  and  a  metropolitan 
in  800,  with  subordinate  bishops  at  Aleppo,  Jerusalem,  Membij 
(Hierapolis  of  the  Greeks,  and  Bambyce  of  the  ancient  Syrians, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  51 

not  far  west  from  the  Euphrates),  Mopsuestia,  Tarsus  and  Mala- 
tia.  He  bore  rule  over  the  Nestorians  iu  Egypt,  Palestine, 
Syria  and  Cilicia. 

John  was  present  at  the  council  of  Nice,  in  325,  as  Bishop  of 
Persia  and  India  ;  and  the  latter  country  had  a  metropolitan 
from  852  to  1720.  In  1504  the  Nestorians  had  fifty  cities  in 
Malabar,  besides  the  city  of  Meliapore.  Gibbon  says  the  Nes- 
torians in  India  had  one  thousand  four  hundred  churches,  con- 
taining two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  souls. 

In  China  a  recent  writer  (S.  W.  Williams,  of  Canton)  thinks 
the  Nestorians  were  found  as  early  as  505  a.  d.  Olopun  was 
Bishop  of  Nankin  in  636,  and  there  was  a  metropolitan  in  Pekin 
in  714.  In  earlier  times  there  were  two  metropolitan  sees  in 
China  ;  one  called  Chambaluch,  or  Chanbalek  (Pekin),  and  the 
other  Tanchet,  or  Tanghut.  But  these  were  united  in  1268. 
In  1625  a  Chinese  inscription  was  discovered  at  Singan  Fu,  in 
one  of  the  western  provinces,  which  had  been  erected  by 
Nestorians  in  781  (some  say  782),  giving  an  account  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  a  list  of  ecclesiastics  who  had  labored  in 
China.  The  missionary  eiForts  of  the  Nestorians  in  China 
seem  to  have  ceased  about  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moguls,  in  1369  ;  and  after  that  time  they  gradually  declined. 
It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  all  traces  of  their  labors 
have  been  obliterated  in  China  ;  but  a  missionary  in  Ningpo, 
which  is  on  the  coast,  a  little  south  of  east  from  Singan  Fu, 
writes  that  "  a  respectable  stranger  from  one  of  the  western 
provinces  came  to  our  chapel,  and  listened  with  much  attention. 
After  service,  he  said  that  he  and  his  ancestors  worshipped  only 
one  God,  the  Creator.  He  knew  of  Closes  and  Jesus  and  Mary; 
said  he  was  not  a  Romanist  nor  a  Mohammedan,  neither  had  he 
seen  our  books,  but  that  the  doctrine  was  handed  down  from 
his  ancestors  for  many  generations.  He  said  that  in  his  native 
place  thirty  families  are  of  the  same  religion,  who  had  books, 
but  did  not  circulate  them."  Is  not  this  one  of  the  descendants 
5 


52  D  K  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

of  the  Nestorians  ?  —  a  living  witness  to  their  missionary  labors  i 
Who  knows  but  some  evangelist  from  a  regenerated  church  in 
Persia  and  Kurdistan  shall,  in  the  province  of  that  stranger, 
revisit  and  build  up  on  a  still  more  permanent  foundation  the 
waste  places  of  many  generations  ? 

Timotheus,  patriarch  from  778  to  820,  sent  Subchaljesus,  a 
monk  of  Beth  Abe,  who  knew  Turkish,  Arabic  and  Persian,  to 
the  countries  beyond  the  Caspian,  lie  baptized,  built  churches 
and  ordained  priests ;  then  leaving  them  to  instruct  the  new 
converts  in  psalmody,  he  penetrated  Eastern  Tartary,  and  on 
his  return  to  the  patriarch  was  slain  by  the  barbarians.  Noth- 
ing daunted,  Timotheus  at  once  ordained  two  others  from  the 
same  convent,  and  sent  them  to  fill  the  vacant  post.  They  took 
fifteen  of  their  companions  with  them,  and  it  may  illustrate  the 
Christianity  of  the  time  to  relate  that,  when  some  of  these  fifteen 
were  needed  as  bishops,  the  patriarch  directed  that,  as  three 
bishops  were  needed  to  ordain  one  to  the  same  office,  and  they 
were  only-tw^o,  they  should  place  a  copy  of  the  gospels  on  a 
chair  at  their  right  hand  for  the  third,  and  thus,  having  ordained 
the  first  of  their  companions,  by  his  aid  they  might  ordain  the 
others  as  usual. 

It  may  seem  strange  that,  while  even  a  scoifer  admits  that 
"  their  zeal  overleaped  the  limits  which  had  confined  the  ambi- 
tion and  curiosity  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  pursued  without 
fear  the  footsteps  of  the  roving  Tartar,  and  insinuated  them- 
selves into  the  camps  of  the  valleys  of  Imaus  and  the  banks 
of  the  Seiinga,"  there  should  be  so  few  permanent  results  of 
their  zeal.  But  our  wonder  will  cease  w^hen  we  read  of  another 
missionary  asking  the  patriarch  how  to  observe  the  forty  days' 
fast  from  animal  food,  since  the  Tartars  subsisted  entirely  on 
flesh  and  the  products  of  the  dairy,  and  had  neither  bread  nor 
vegetables ;  and  the  grave  reply  that  they  need  abstain  only 
from  meat,  and  that,  whereas  they  had  heretofore  used  their 
milk  sour,  they  should  now  drink  it  sweet,  as  a  token  of  their 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  5o 

conversion.  Khorassan,  too,  is  said  to  have  become  Christian, 
because  the  idolaters,  finding  they  could  neither  break  nor  burn 
the  shrine  (arcam)  of  Mar  Elias,  concluded  to  worship  before  it. 
Abulfaraj  tells  of  a  king  of  the  Tartars  about  1000  a.  d. 
(Unkhkhan,  or  the  celebrated  Prester  John),  who  becan-o  a 
Christian  because,  when  lost  in  a  snow-storm,  a  saint  appeared 
to  him  in  a  vision  and  led  him  safely  home,  on  his  promise  to 
do  so.  The  same  author  gives  a  curious  description  of  the  con- 
verts, when  he  says  that  in  104G  they  broke  through  Mount 
Imaus,  between  Thibet  and  Khotan,  under  seven  leaders,  each 
with  seventy  thousand  horsemen,  most  excellent  archers,  simple 
and  abstemious  in  diet,  but  swarthy  as  Indians,  unwashed,  their 
hair  uncut  and  stiffened  with  grease  till  it  served  them  for  a 
helmet,  and  their  horses  feeding  on  flesh  ;  a  very  difl'erent  pic- 
ture from  either  converted  Hottentots  in  Caffraria,  or  Chris- 
tianized cannibals  in  New  Zealand. 

Whether  the  evanescent  nature  of  such  conversions  argues 
that  the  work  which  our  missionaries  build  upon  Jesus  Christ, 
'the  true  foundation,  will  not  abide,  the  reader  may  decide  for 
himself.  Neander  does  not  speak  very  highly  of  these  converts. 
He  thinks  the  missionaries  were  as  easily  contented  with  an 
external  performance  of  certain  ceremonies  as  the  Tartars  were 
ready  to  perform  them ;  and  speaks  of  a  Khan  Mangu,  who,  on 
festivals,  used  to  have  Nestorian  priests  in  their  robes  offer  up 
prayers  for  him,  and  pronounce  a  blessing  over  his  cups ;  then 
had  Mohammedan  priests,  and,  last  of  all,  Pagans,  do  the  same. 
But  his  authorities  are  papal  missionaries,  and  their  testimony 
must  be  received  as  that  of  rivals.  May  we  not  hope  for  some 
testimony  yet  to  be  advanced  from  Nestorian  records  ? 

While  this  activity,  whatever  it  was,  prevailed  abroad,  the 
church  experienced  many  vicissitudes  at  home.  At  Seleucia, 
it  was  sometimes  in  favor,  but  as  often  persecuted  by  the  Persian 
emperors ;  and  when  they  were  overthrown  in  762,  the  patriarch 
removed  to  Bagdad,  the  new  capital  of  their  Arab  conquerors. 


54  DR.GRANTANDTIIE 

There  they  enjoyed  unusual  prosperity  ;  they  were  much  in  favor 
at  the  court  of  the  Caliphs,  and  employed  by  some  of  them  to 
make  translations  of  Aristotle,  and  other  celebrated  Greek 
writers,  into  the.  Arabic.  This  favorable  state  of  things  lasted 
till  1258,  when  the  city  was  sacked  by  the  Tartars ;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  this  period  —  that  is,  from  762  to  1258 
—  was  that  of  the  greatest  missionary  activity  of  the  Nestorian 
church.  The  Tartars  at  first  favored  them,  but  v.'hen  they 
embraced  Mohammedanism  became  their  bitter  persecutors,  and, 
towards  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Nestorians  were 
almost  exterminated,  in  many  regions,  by  the  merciless  Tamer- 
lane (Timur).  It  will  give  some  idea  of  his  ferocity  to  state  that 
in  1380  he  built  up  two  thousand  men  alive  with  mortar,  in  the 
form  of  a  tower,  who  thus  miserably  perished.  Seven  years  later, 
he  piled  up  seventy  thousand  human  heads  in  the  public  squares 
of  Ispahan,  and  in  1401  ninety  thousand  in  the  city  of  Bagdad. 
Three  years  previous,  he  massacred  one  hundred  thousand  pris- 
oners in  his  invasion  of  India ;  and  in  1400  he  buried  alive  four 
thousand  Armenian  horsemen,  whom  he  had  taken  prisoners  at 
Sivas.  Such  was  the  man  whose  fury  seems  to  have  put  an 
end  to  the  missionary  activity  of  the  Nestorians,  while  from 
many  countries  it  blotted  out  their  very  name. 

After  1258,  the  patriarchate  was  removed  hither  and  thither, 
till  in  1560  it  became  fixed  again  in  Mosul,  and  was  at  the 
celebrated  convent  of  Rabban  Hormuz  when  Assemani  wrote, 
in  1725. 

In  1551,  at  the  death  of  the  patriarch,  as  only  one  metropol- 
itan remained  out  of  the  twenty-five  who  had  ruled  from  China 
to  Egypt,  and  from  Northern  Tartary  to  the  island  of  Socotra, 
and  three  at  least  were  needed  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  con- 
secration, the  new  patriarch  was  sent  to  be  ordained  at  Kome. 
That  the  relations  this  involved  were  not  very  intimate,  is  evi- 
dent from  his  successor,  Elias,  being  refused  communion  with 
Rome  in  1586,  and  the  Elias  who  filled  the  patriarchal  chair 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORI  A  NS.  55 

1629 — 59,  in  turn,  refusing  communion  with  her.  Shimon, 
Archbishop  of  Jelu,  Sert,  and  Sahiias,  refused  obedience  to  Elias 
in  1575,  and  was  elected  patriarch  of  the  Nestor ians  of  Kur- 
distan ;  and  his  successors  ever  since  have  borne  the  same  name, 
while  those  who  inherited  the  name  of  Elias  with  his  office 
retained  authority  over  Mesopotamia.  Thus  there  were  two 
branches  of  tlie  Nestorian  church,  —  one  in  faith,  though  under 
distinct  patriarchs,  and  still  another  was  consecrated  patriarch 
of  the  Chaldeans  (Nestorians  who  have  seceded  to  Rome)  by 
the  Pope  in  1681,  under  the  title  of  Mar  Yoosuf,  who  resided 
at  Diarbekir  till  about  1780,  when  the  submission  of  Mar  Elias 
to  Rome  obviated  the  necessity  of  this  separate  organization. 
This  secession  was  secured  partly  by  bribes  and  partly  by  vio- 
lence, and  was  followed  by  still  severer  oppression  of  the  pros- 
elyted patriarch.  At  his  death,  in  1841,  his  office,  instead  of 
descending  to  his  nephew,  according  to  previous  custom,  was 
conferred  on  a  Chaldean  from  Salmas,  and  the  very  name  of 
Mar  Elias  exchanged  for  that  of  Mar  Nicolas,  by  a  decree  from 
the  Pope.  Nor  is  this  interference  with  the  patriarchate  the 
only  wrong  Rome  has  inflicted  on  a  sister  church.  She  has 
altered  her  ancient  liturgy,  introduced  her  own  idolatrous  wor- 
ship of  images,  suppressed  the  second  commandment,  and,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  forbids  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  that 
would  expose  the  mutilation.  The  people  are  restive  under  her 
yoke,  and  the  day  of  retribution  may  be  near  at  hand.  The 
nephew  of  the  patriarch  thus  superseded  has  changed  from  the 
Chaldeans  to  the  Nestorians,  and  vice  versa,  hoping  to  recover 
the  patriarchate  ;  but,  instead  of  that,  he  now  lives  in  obscure 
poverty  in  the  very  village  where  the  intrigues  and  violence  of 
Rome  have  placed  another  in  his  rightful  inheritance. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  an   accurate  statement  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Nestorians.     For,  as  a  church,  they  have  no  regular  con- 
fession  of  faith,  and  their  treatises  on  Christian  doctrine   ex- 
press the  viewf:-  of  individuals,  rather   than  the  belief  of  the 
5* 


56  r>ll.    GRANT     AND     THE 

whole  body.  Ndf  is  a  missionary  biography  the  place  for  such 
a  dissertation  The  subject  is  discussed  at  length  by  Dr.  Per- 
kins, in  the  Ancient  Christianity  Exemplified  of  Rev.  L.  Cole- 
man, pp.  564 — 580  ;  and  still  more  extensively  in  the  second 
volume  of  The  Nestorians  and  their  Rituals,  by  Rev.  G.  P. 
Badger,  where  the  original  authorities  are  translated  and  ar- 
ranged according  to  the  thirty-nine  articles  of  the  Church  of 
England.  That  "  expose  "  shows  much  chaff  as  well  as  wheat, 
and  exhibits  a  strong  tendency  in  the  Nestorian  fathers  to  the 
exaltation  of  the  priesthood  and  external  forms,  at  the  expense 
of  spiritual  truth. 

But  the  "  mystery  of  iniquity  "  was  at  work  even  while  the 
apostles  lived,  and  the  gospel  had  lost  much  of  its  purity  before 
the  Nestorian  church  came  into  existence.  Yet  she  was  an  early 
and  efficient  patron  of  education.  The  school  at  Edessa  was 
founded  by  Mar  Ephraim,  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. That  at  Dorkena,  in  385.  The  school  at  Nisibis,  founded 
490,  had  a  three  years'  course  of  biblical  and  theological  studies, 
besides  mathematics,  medicine,  grammar,  belles-lettres,  music, 
astronomy,  &c.  &c. 

Neander  says,  "The  Nestorian  seminaries  for  the  clergy,  at 
the  beginning,  were  particularly  distinguished."  So  much  so, 
that  even  in  Northern  Africa,  Bishop  Junilius,  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  century,  describes  the  school  at  Nisibis  as  one 
''where  the  Scriptures  were  expounded  by  teachers  publicly 
appointed,  in  the  same  manner  as  grammar  and  rhetoric  among 
the  Romans."  Afterwards  schools  were  established  at  Bagdad, 
Mahuza,  Beth  Abe,  Tirhana,  Maragha,  and  other  places,  besides 
one  as  far  off  as  Khorassan. 

Such  a  course  of  education  was  fitted  to  give  great  promi- 
nence to  Scripture  doctrines;  and  Mosheim  tells  us  that  the 
Nestorian  commentators  of  the  sixth  century  were  the  best 
of  the  age,  as  they  alone  sought  for  the  true  meaming  of  the 
inspired  words.    Compared  with  the  other  churches  of  the  East, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  57 

she  is  well  worthy  of  having  her  sons  called  "the  Protestants 
of  the  East ;"  but  truth  compels  us  to  admit  that  it  is  only  com- 
paratively. Their  prompt  reference  of  all  points  in  debate  to 
the  Scriptures,  and  readiness  to  abide  by  their  decision,  renders 
the  Nestorian  church  an  exceedingly  interesting  field  of  mis- 
sionary labor. 

It  has  been  well  said  by  another  that  "  her  missionary  activ- 
ity is  both  the  cause  and  effect  of  her  comparative  purity."  The 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Nestorius  himself  have  been  so  often  stated 
in  works  on  the  Nestorians,  that  we  will  here  omit  the  repetition, 
especially  as  there  will  be  no  occasion  to  refer  to  them,  in  the 
course  of  the  narrative."^ 

Dr.  Grant  pored  with  eager  interest  over  the  history  of  this 
ancient  church.  The  story  of  her  martyrs  under  Sapor,  and 
the  more  ferocious  Tamerlane,  drew  his  heart  closer  to  the  rem- 
nant that  remained.  The  memory  of  her  schools  led  him  to 
form  bright  hopes  of  the  future  of  a  church  so  distinguished  in 
the  past.  But,  most  of  all,  the  missionary  heroism  of  those  who 
went  out  from  these  schools  through  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Asia  thrilled  a  heart  so  sympathetic  with  their  own.  He  loved 
the  Nestorians.  He  toiled  for  the  revival  of  apostolic  piety  in 
that  primitive  church  ;  not  merely  for  its  own  salvation,  but  as 
the  regenerator  of  the  millions  round  about  it.  He  gave  him- 
self to  his  work,  with  his  eye  ever  fixed  on  the  time  when  thoso 
for  whom  he  labored  would  go  forth  in  the  footsteps  of  their 
fathers,  to  rekindle  the  fire  on  the  ancient  altars,  and  restore 
the  former  desolations  on  a  more  permanent  foundation.  It 
was  pressing  toward  this  goal  that  he  endured  hardness  like  a 
o'ood  soldier,  and  boldly  advanced,  even  in  the  fiice  of  death 
itself. 

*  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  controversy  between  him  and  Cyril, 
see  Neander's  Church  History,  ii.  446—495,  which  giyes  a  very  favor- 
able view  of  the  piety  and  orthodoxy  of  Nestorius,  and  a  picture  of  his 
opponent  by  no  means  tp  his  credit. 


58  D  11  .     G  11  A  N  T     AND     THE     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  . 

In  a  memoir  of  ])r.  Grant,  it  will  be  expected  that  some 
notice  be  taken  of  his  belief  that  in  the  Nestorians  he  had 
found  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel.  This  to  him  was  a  settled  truth. 
His  confidence  in  it  never  wavered  till  the  last.  He  had  col- 
lected what  he  deemed  strong  confirmations  of  the  positions 
taken  in  his  work  on  "  The  Lost  Tribes,"  and,  had  he  lived, 
would  have  one  day  given  them  to  the  world.  Part  of  these 
consisted  in  written  documents  from  the  Jews  in  Kurdistan, 
showing  that  their  language  was  identical  in  origin  with  that  of 
the  Nestorians.  He  had  also  collated  historical  evidence  to 
show  that  Assyria  and  Babylon  were  not  only  distinct,  but  so 
at  enmity  with  each  other,  till  after  the  return  of  the  two 
tribes  from  the  latter  kingdom,  that  that  event  could  not  influ- 
ence tlie  ten  tribes,  so  much  longer  settled  in  the  other. 

Though  others  may  not  share  his  zeal  in  this  matter,  none 
can  deny  that  it  imparted  a  tone  of  uncommon  energy  to  his 
missionary  life.  He  felt  that  his  labors  were  connected  with  the 
fulfilment  of  some  of  the  most  precious  promises  of  God  to  his 
church.  That  glorious  future  was  to  him  a  present  reality; 
so  that,  where  others  saw  only  discouragement,  his  eye  glanced 
forward  to  the  brightness  beyond.  It  seemed  a  special  pro- 
vision of  Providence  to  sustain  him  in  his  many  trials,  leading 
him  to  look  less  to  man  and  more  to  God.  It  made  even  heavy 
afflictions  to  work  out  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory,  while  he  looked  not  at  the  things  that  are  seen,  but 
on  the  unseen  and  eternal.  His  exposition  of  the  two  witnesses, 
p.  322 — 4  of  "Lost  Tribes,"  was  often  referred  to,  both  in  letters 
and  conversation,  as  affording  him  strong  support  under  the 
distressino-  calamities  of  the  Mountain  Nestorians. 


CHAPTER    V 


ARB  IVAL   IN    OROOMIAH  —  MISSIONARY     PHYSICIANS  —  CHOLERA  —  LABORS 
AND   LETTERS   OF   DR.    GRANT  —  LOOTEE LABORS   OF  MRS.    GRANT. 


The  province  of  Orooiiiiali  lies  in  the  north-western  part  of 
Persia.  The  lofty  mountains  of  Kurdistan  look  down  on  it  from 
the  west.  On  the  east  the  beautiful  lake  of  the  same  name 
extends,  about  eighty  miles  in  length  and  thirty  in  width.  It  is 
four  thousand  one  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
so  salt  that  fish  cannot  live  in  its  waters,  though  numerous 
water-fowl  —  among  which  the  beautiful  flamingo  is  most  con- 
spicuous —  enliven  its  shores.  A  highly  fertile  plain  gently 
slopes  from  the  mountains  to  the  lake,  comprising  an  area  of 
about  five  hundred  square  miles,  and  dotted  with  not  less 
than  three  hundred  villages.  These  vary  in  population  i'rom 
one  hundred  to  one  thousand  inhabitants.  The  whole  region, 
from  Khoy  on  the  north  as  far  south  as  Sulduz,  is  a  perfect 
garden.     Several  rivers  from  the  mountains  are  almost  drained 

o 

to  irrigate  the  fields  on  either  side.  The  roads  in  every  direc- 
tion are  shaded  by  trees,  often  extending  the  most  delicious 
fruit  within  reach  of  the  traveller.  The  landscape  is  one  of  the 
loveliest  in  the  east,  —  willow,  poplar  and  sycamore  trees  line 
the  water-courses.  Peach,  apricot,  pear,  plum,  cherry,  quince 
and  apple  trees,  impart  to  some  portions  the  appearance  of  a 
forest,  while  the  vineyards,  and  luxuriant  fields  and  gardens  of 
the  plain,  form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  naked  aspect  of  the 
mountains.  On  these  not  a  solitary  tree  is  to  be  seen.  Among 
them,  however,  are  two  hundred  villages  belonging  to  the  prov- 


60  D  K  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

ince,  half  hidden  in  lovely  valleys,  or  perched  high  on  steep  hill- 
sides. One  of  these  last  is  now  the  summer  residence  of  the 
mission,  at  an  elevation  of  fourteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
lake,  while  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan  rise  behind  to  the  height 
of  twelve  thousand  feet,  some  of  them  crowned  with  snow 
throughout  the  year. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  plain,  and  about  four  hundred  feet 
above  the  lake,  stands  the  city  of  Oroomiah.  It  dates  from  a 
distant  antiquity,  and  claims  to  be  the  birth-place  of  Zoroaster. 
Not  far  to  the  east  of  the  city,  an  artificial  mound,  about  seventy 
feet  high,  marks  the  site  of  the  temple  where  he  fed  the  safcred 
lires.  It  is  a  walled  city,  of  nearly  four  miles  in  circumference, 
and  contains  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  Of  these, 
six  hundred  are  Nestorians,  two  thousand  Jews,  and  the  rest 
Mohammedans.  The  flat-roofed  houses  are  mostly  built  of 
mud  or  sun-burnt  bricks,  and  are  enclosed  w^ith  high  walls  of 
the  same  material.  Often  the  house  itself  forms  one  side  of  the 
enclosure.  The  more  wealthy  have  beautiful  gardens  attached 
to  their  dwellings,  where  the  family  can  enjoy  themselves,  secure 
from  all  intrusion. 

Here,  and  in  the  villages  of  the  plain,  twenty  thousand  Nes- 
torians furnish  a  most  inviting  field  of  missionary  labor.  The 
same  causes  that  led  their  ancestors  to  favor  Persia,  rather  than 
Rome,  now  render  them  peculiarly  jealous  of  the  Pope.  Just  as 
the  tragic  story  of  Hassan  and  Ilossein  feeds  the  hatred  of  the 
Persian  Shiite  against  the  Soonees  of  Turkey,  so  have  the 
wrongs  of  the  banished  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  his 
death  among  the  sands  of  Libya,  fed  the  hatred  of  the  Nesto- 
rians against  both  the  eastern  and  western  church.  This  has 
tended  to  keep  them  comparatively  uncontaminated  by  the  cor- 
ruptions of  Rome.  While  that  church  forbids  the  circulation 
of  the  Scriptures  among  the  people,  they  appeal  to  them  as  the 
standard  of  faith,  and  desire  their  diffusion  among  all  classes  in 
a  language  they  can  understand.     Their  forms  are  simple,  and 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R  J  A  N  S  .  61 

more  scriptural  than  those  of  other  Eastern  churches.  They  abhor 
image-worship,  auricuhir  confession,  and  the  doctrine  of  Purga- 
tory. And  yet,  as  a  church,  they  had  sunk  into  the  grossest 
ignorance.  None  but  their  clergy  could  read  or  write.  Female 
education  was  unknown,  and  the  observance  of  fasts  and  feasts 
usurped  the  place  of  holiness  in  heart  and  life.  Still,  some,  con- 
scious of  their  degradation,  seemed  to  seek  for  better  things ;  and 
all  hailed  the  arrival  of  men  who  brought  with  them  the  Bible, 
and  promised  to  revive  the  glory  of  their  ancient  schools. 

With  such  encouragements  in  the  people  themselves,  their 
location  was  no  less  promising.  Out  of  the  usual  routes  of  com- 
merce, it  was  also  out  of  the  way  of  those  European  vices  that 
contaminate  even  the  heathen.  For  the  wickedness  of  some, 
away  from  the  restraints  of  Christian  lands,  as  far  excels  the 
wickedness  around  them,  as  their  intelligence  and  energy 
exceeds  that  of  the  degraded  people  among  whom  they  dwell. 
Where  such  men  occupy  positions  of  influence,  they  over- 
shadow the  missionary,  and  counteract  his  labors.  His  piety 
does  not  relieve  Christianity  of  a  tithe  of  the  reproach  cast 
upon  it  by  their  vices. 

But  in  Oroomiah,  as  the  missionary  was  first  on  the  ground, 
men  got  their  idea  of  Christianity  from  his  character  ;  and  this 
influence  for  good  was  as  unchecked  as  it  was  extensive,  for  nei- 
ther vicious  example  nor  direct  opposition  was  there  to  interfere. 
The  whole  weight  of  European  superiority  in  art  and  science 
was  thrown  into  the  scale  of  morality  and  religion,  and  made 
subservient  to  the  glory  of  Christ. 

Such  was  the  field  Dr.  Grant  now  entered,  and  his  esteemed 
predecessor  still  lives  to  reap  the  harvest  they  sowed  together. 
That  they  were  happy  in  each  other  may  be  inferred  from  a  letter 
of  the  latter  to  Dr  Anderson,  November  4,  1835,  in  which  he 
says,  "  Permit  me  to  say  that,  from  my  short  acquaintance  with 
Dr.  Grant,  I  have  great  confidence  that  your  choice  has  been 
remarkably  successful."  And  agan\,  October  27,  1836,  he  says  to 


62  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  U  E 

a  missionary  friend,  "  Having  lived  in  the  same  yard  with  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Grant  now  for  nearly  a  year,  I  venture  to  affirm  that 
four  hearts  were  never  more  happily  united  in  missionary  plans, 
cares  and  labors,  than  ours."  While  Dr.  Grant  writes  to  Dr. 
Anderson,  November  10,  1835,  "  Permit  me  to  express  my 
gratitude  to  God  and  to  the  Board,  for  placing  me  with  such  an 
invaluable  associate  as  I  trust  I  have  found  in  Mr.  Perkins." 

Dr.  Grant  left  Tabriz  again  on  the  very  date  of  this  letter,  to 
get  the  houses  in  readiness  for  the  mission  families.  But  so 
very  slow  were  the  movements  of  the  carpenters,  that  Mr.  Per- 
kins and  the  ladies,  who  left  six  days  later,  found  things  quite 
unprepared  for  their  reception.  The  date  of  their  arrival  in 
their  new  home  was  one  long  to  be  remembered.  After  riding 
all  day  in  a  driving  storm  of  rain,  they  were  introduced  into  an 
open  room,  and  sat  down  with  the  carpenters  among  the  shav- 
ings. It  was  late  in  November,  and  very  cold.  Then,  as  Dr. 
Grant  had  not  expected  them  in  the  storm,  and  their  loads  were 
left  behind,  they  had  neither  bedding,  provisions,  nor  a  change  of 
clothing.  A  large  fire,  however,  was  soon  blazing;  bread  and 
kebabs  (small  morsels  of  meat  roasted  on  skewers)  were  pro- 
cured from  the  market.  A  long  ride  had  sharpened  their  appe- 
tite, and  after  a  vigorous  attack  on  the  huge  loaves,  or  rather 
leaves  (  they  were  more  than  two  and  a  half  feet  long,  by  one 
in  breadth),  with  their  savory  contents,  they  slept  sweetly  on 
the  piles  of  shavings,  covered  with  the  cloaks  they  had  dried  by 
the  fire.  Still,  even  thus,  there  was  no  place  like  home ;  and, 
with  grateful  hearts,  they  long  observed  the  20th  of  November 
as  their  Pilgrim's  day.  They  were  obliged  to  occupy  their 
houses  at  once,  just  as  they  found  them ;  and  while  the  grains 
of  barley  sprouted  in  the  mud-plaster  of  Mr.  Perkins'  chamber, 
partially  heated  by  a  stove  in  an  adjoining  room,  the  frost  stif- 
fened the  bed-clothes  of  Dr.  Grant,  whose  room  was  not  thus 
warmed.  Such  exposure  doubtless  prepared  the  way  for  the 
sickness  that  followed.     But,  as  the  rainy  season   had  set  in,  to 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  03 

have  delayed  longer  might  have  been  to  fare  worse ;  and  to  have 
spent  the  winter  at  Tabriz  might  have  hazarded  the  prosperity, 
if  not  the  very  existence,  of  the  mission. 

Mrs.  Grant  thus  describes  her  arrival,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Mer- 
rick, dated  December  3  : 

u  ^  #  :.X=  #  #  I  am  now  quite  well,  and  very,  very  hajjpy.  I 
feel  that  I  have  at  length  reached  my  home,  and  that  my  wan- 
derings, for  a  time  at  least,  are  over.  0,  't  is  so  sweet  to  sit 
by  one's  own  fireside,  with  those  we  love  about  us  ;  but  sweeter 
still  to  surround  our  own  domestic  altar,  and  unite  in  prayer 
and  praise  to  our  heavenly  Benefactor ! 

"  I  have  wished  a  hundred  times,  dear  brother,  that  you  were 
a  sharer  in  our  joys.  I  cannot  describe  my  emotions  when  first 
saluted  by  our  Nestorian  friends.  The  bishop  came  galloping 
out  to  meet  us,  his  whole  countenance  glowing  with  delight. 
'  How  do  you  do  ?  —  I  'm  very  glad  to  see  you,'  were  his  first 
words.  To  be  addressed,  on  my  entrance  to  my  missionary 
field,  in  my  own  language,  was  indeed  afiecting.  AVe  were  met 
by  many  of  the  villagers,  with  the  fiither  of  the  bishop  at  their 
head,  and  received  from  them  a  most  cordial  welcome.  His 
mother  and  family  also  greeted  us  very  aff"ectionately,  so  that 
we  felt  as  if  we  were  among  near  friends,  if  not  relations. 

"  I  was  much  afi"ected  to  hear  the  brother  of  the  bishop,  a  boy 
of  fourteen,  read  in  the  English  Testament  as  well  as  most  boys 
of  his  own  age  at  home.  I  could  only  sit  and  weep,  inwardly 
thanking  God  for  all  that  mine  eyes  saw  and  ears  heard."  ^  =^  ^ 

They  were  hardly  settled  before  the  governor  sent  to 
welcome  them,  and  as  soon  as  possible  came  in  person.  The 
Nestorians  sent  in  many  presents,  and  in  every  way  testified 
delight  at  their  coming.  Mar  Yohanna  gave  his  younger 
brother  to  Dr.  Grant,  to  study  English  and  medicine,  even  be- 
fore he  reached  the  city;  and  himself  was  an  inmate  of  his 
family,  till   the  pressure  of  1837  compelled  the  mission  to  dis- 


()4  D  II  .     G  R  A  N  T     AND     T  11  E 

miss  liiiii  iTom  their  service.  Dr.  Grant  was  at  once  go  thronged 
with  patients  that  he  could  scarcely  find  time  to  attend  to 
anything  else.  As  soon  as  possible,  he  opened  a  regular  dis- 
pensary. The  nobility  and  clergy,  as  well  as  those  too  sick  to 
come,  were  visited  at  their  houses.  The  rest  thronged  the 
dispensary  in  crowds  at  the  stated  hours.  It  was  interesting  to 
see  Moslems  and  Nestorians  coming  together  to  receive  kind- 
ness from  the  stranger,  who  ministered  to  all  for  Jesus'  sake. 
The  aged  were  helped  forv/ard  by  their  children.  Little  ones 
were  brought  by  their  anxious  mothers.  Some,  hardly  able  to 
w^alk,  were  supported  by  their  friends ;  and  others,  led  by  the 
hand,  utterly  blind,  from  ophthalmia.  The  languid  face  of  the 
sick  turned  sadly  on  the  physician,  while  each  word  and  look 
Avas  made  a  basis  for  hope,  or  a  confirmation  of  their  anxious 
fears. 

Says  Dr.  Grant,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Anderson  :  "  As  I  have 
witnessed  the  relief  of  hitherto  hopeless  suffering,  and  seen 
their  grateful  attempts  to  kiss  my  feet,  and  my  very  shoes  at 
the  door,  both  of  which  they  would  literally  bathe  with  tears, 
—  especially  as  the  haughty  Moollah  has  stooped  to  kiss  the 
border  of  the  garment  of  the  despised  Christian,  some  thanking 
God  that  I  would  not  refuse  medicine  to  a  Moslem,  and  others 
saying  that  in  every  prayer  they  thanked  God  for  my  coming,  — 
I  have  hoped  that,  even  before  I  could  teach  our  religion,  I  was 
domg  something  to  recommend  it,  and  wished  that  more  of  my 
professional  brethren  might  share  this  luxury  of  doing  good." 

But,  with  all  this,  there  was  much  to  try  the  patience. 
Children,  with  fevers,  or  summer-complaints,  came  eating 
unripe  fruit,  and  their  parents  would  often  go  away  with- 
out medicine,  rather  than  take  it  from  them.  Others,  after 
listening  to  the  most  specific  directions,  still  asked  a  thou- 
sand questions.  Must  the  milk  allowed  for  diet  be  that  of  a 
goat,  sheep,  buffalo,  ass  or  cow  ;  and,  if  the  latter,  what  must  be 
her  color  ?  —  for,  according  to  them,  that  of  a  white  cow  is  cold, 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R I A  N  S .  65 

and  of  a  red  one  hot.  For  a  similar  reason,  they  inquire  what 
must  be  the  sex  of  the  chicken  used  to  make  the  broth  pre- 
scribed; —  one  article  is  dry,  and  another  moist;  this  makes 
blood,  and  that  bile;  one  vein  in  the  arm  takes  blood  from 
the  head,  another  from  the  liver,  and  so  on.  And,  if  too  ignor- 
ant to  ask  all  these  learned  questions,  the  patient  not  unfre- 
quently  asks  whether  he  is  to  swallow  paper  and  medicine  too, 
—  if  this  is  not  done  at  once,  without  inquiry.  Then  the 
directions  must  be  repeated  over  and  over,  the  sick  man 
must  know  the  name  of  his  disease ;  men  of  rank  must  have 
the  pulse  felt  in  both  wrists,  and  then  be  told  every  ache 
and  pain  they  have,  without  further  questioning.  Or,  if  free 
from  both,  they  must  be  told  what  medicine  to  take  to  remain 
so.  These  are  a  few  of  the  annoyances,  occurring  perhaps 
fifty  times  a  day.  And,  after  all  his  labor,  the  efforts  of  the 
physician  are  often  rendered  vain,  by  the  patient's  going  ex- 
actly contrary  to  a  plain  direction  as  to  medicine  or  food. 
Even  in  the  most  alarming  diseases,  the  physician  cannot 
prevail  on  them  to  touch  a  spoonful  of  chicken-broth  during  a 
fast.  If  he  remonstrates,  they  reply  that  they  will  sooner  die 
than  yield.  Dr.  Grant's  practice  among  the  Irish  of  Utica 
must  have  been  a  good  introduction  to  what  lay  before  him  in 
Persia  and  Kiirdistan. 

But  sometimes  he  got  more  credit  than  he  deserved.  He  once 
applied  a  blister  behind  the  ear  of  a  Persian  noble,  for  a  local 
pain,  caused  by  exposure  in  coming  out  of  a  bath  in  winter.  It 
drew  finely  and  cured  the  patient,  and  the  doctor  had  the 
credit  of  perceiving  that  all  that  water  had  run  into  his  ear  in 
the  bath  and  frozen  there,  and  then  such  a  wonderfully  jiot 
medicine  as  he  had  to  thaw  it  out !  While  such  incidents  pro- 
cured him  a  great  name  among  the  people,  the  real  benefits  he 
conferred  procured  more  of  real  reputation.  Especially  did 
the  sight  restored  to  many  by  the  removal  of  cataract  give  him 
an  immense  influence  to  employ  for  Christ.     Patients  came  as 


66  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

many  as  five  days'  journey ;  Nestorians  from  the  mountains, 
Kurdish  chiefs  even  from  Amadia  beyond,  and  some  from 
the  distant  borders  of  Georgia.  Among  the  thousands  who 
thronged  him  were  many  of  the  highest  rank  and  influence,  — 
the  governor  of  the  province,  two  princes  of  the  royal  family, 
and  many  of  the  Persian  nobility. 

And  yet  all  was  done  so  prudently  that,  though  his  services 
were  entirely  gratuitous,  he  gave  no  offence  to  the  native  phy- 
sicians. There  was  no  show  to  attract  customers,  and  he  was 
ready  to  aid  the  native  practitioners  with  both  medicine  and 
instruction. 

He  felt  that  a  missionary -physician  should  seek  to  win  their 
friendship,  and  prepare  them  for  usefulness.  It  is  vain  to 
hope  to  supply  the  heathen  with  enlightened  physicians.  But 
he  thought  that,  in  a  spirit  of  love,  much  might  be  done  towards 
relieving  the  great  mass  of  suffering  he  could  not  possibly 
attend  to  in  person,  by  elevating  those  they  had ;  and  on  this 
principle  he  always  acted.  A  petty  professional  jealousy  formed 
no  part  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Grant. 

He  declined  attendance  on  their  wealthy  patients,  unless  for 
gome  special  reason ;  and  in  Mosul,  at  least,  if  there  was  no 
gpecial  intimacy,  he  consented  to  visit  them  only  as  a  consulting 
physician.  There,  too,  he  required  all  who  came  to  bring  a 
teskereh  (certificate)  from  the  Priest,  Moollah,  or  Rabbi,  as 
their  sect  might  be,  testifying  that  they  were  proper  objects  of 
charity,  before  he  would  prescribe.  This  relieved  him  from 
the  annoyance  of  many  trivial  ailments,  and  at  the  same  time 
enabled  the  clergy  to  show  kindness  to  the  poor  at  little  cost. 
AVhile  he  thus  shared  with  them  the  credit  of  the  cure,  he 
also  effectually  prevented  their  persecuting  such  of  their  people 
as  vrere  inquiring  for  the  truth. 

A  Jacobite  bishop  once  anathematized  all  who  came  to  the 
xVmericans  for  medical  aid ;  but  he  soon  found  he  was  reckoning 
without  his  host.     The  people  would  not  be  kept  away,  and  the 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  K I  A  N  S  .  67 

clergy  who  came  thenisclves  could  not  reFasc  ieslccrcls  to  those 
who  really  needed  thciu. 

These  things  show  the  importance  of  a  pious  physician  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  a  mission.  Our  Saviour  knew  v^hat  would  give 
his  ministers  access  to  men  ;  and  while  he  himself  went  about 
healing  all  manner  of  disease,  he  gave  power  to  his  disciples  to  do 
the  same,  and  sent  them  to  heal  the  sick  as  well  as  preach  the 
gospel.  We  know  how  Paul  employed  this  gift  of  healing  to 
open  a  way  for  the  truth ;  and  the  cure  of  a  lame  man  in  the 
temple,  by  Peter  and  John,  laid  the  foundation  for  a  sermon 
second  in  its  results  only  to  that  delivered  on  Pentecost.  Those 
miraculous  gifts  have  passed  away,  but  the  human  heart  will 
never  cease  to  be  susceptible  to  such  kindness.  A  heathen  may 
be  deaf  to  the  most  moving  discourses  of  Christ  and  heaven ; 
but,  let  the  missionary  relieve  his  bodily  suffering,  and  then  tell 
him  he  does  it  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  speak  of  what  led  him  to 
love  that  Saviour,  and  what  Christ  is  able  to  do  for  all,  and  he 
secures  a  hearing  few  others  could  obtain.  It  is  diihcult  for  a 
missionary,  as  such,  to  gain  access  to  a  people.  The  Moslem 
still  hates  Christianity.  Heathen  are  suspicious  of  a  stranger. 
The  nominal  Christians  of  the  East  are  full  of  prejudice,  and 
emissaries  are  not  wanting  to  excite  that  prejudice,  or  even 
create  it  where  it  is  wanting.  Fi^om  such  causes  the  mere  mis- 
sionary may- remain  for  years  isolated  and  shunned,  if  not  de- 
spised, and  all  opportunity  of  doing  the  good  he  yearns  to  do  be 
utterly  denied  him.  But  the  missionary  physician  is  sought  by 
all.  The  hovel  and  the  [>alace  open  alike  at  his  approach. 
Even  the  harem,  where  a  brother  may  not  intrude,  is  not  too 
sacred  for  "the  infidel,"  when  he  enters  as  an  angel  of  mercy  to 
the  sick  and  dying.  Thns  he  reaches  the  heart  when  most  sus- 
ceptible to  the  truth,  and,  introducing  his  brethren,  enlarges 
their  sphere  of  ut-efulness  as  well  as  his  own. 

We  have  seen  the  usefulness  of  Dr.  Grant  in  Constantinople, 
but  it  was  not  confined  to  the  capital.  At  Trebizond  lie  found 
6* 


68  r  n  .    n  i;  a  n  t    and   the 

prejudice  against  Franks  so  strong  that  even  tlic  propei  ty  of  the 
English  consul  had  been  destroyed,  and  one  of  the  niis^^ionaries 
could  scarcely  obtain  a  house  to  live  in;  and  yet,  could  he  have 
remained,  he  would  have  been  welcomed  everywhere.  So  evi- 
dent was  tills,  that  the  missionary  would  have  detained  him,  had 
he  not  been  needed  so  much  at  Oroomiah.  When  Dr.  A.  Smith 
attended  an  Italian  padre  at  Mosul,  one  of  the  people  was 
verheard  saying  to  another,  "The  Catholics  were  very  angry 
)ecause  the  Americans  came  here  to  do  good  among  us,  but 
now  the  padre  himself  is  glad  of  their  services,  and  the  Ameri- 
can physician  does  him  all  the  good  he  can." 

The  iniiuence  of  a  pious  physician  is  much  more  important 
at  the  outset  of  a  mission  than  afterwards.  When  the  missionary 
comes  to  be  better  known,  this  aid  is  less  necessary,  though 
even  then  it  is  not  useless.  A  missionary  in  Oroomiah,  writing 
in  1838,  after  saying  that  "much  has  been  done,  as  in  former 
years,  in  medical  practice,  and  with  the  like  happy  eifect  of  con- 
ciliating the  confidence  of  all  classes,"  immediately  adds,  "  while 
our  brethren  of  many  other  missions  have  encountered  storms 
of  opposition,  nothing  of  the  kind  has  ever  yet  been  organized 
against  us." 

Other  things,  it  is  true,  are  to  be  taken  into  account  in  both 
cases ;  and  yet  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  Oroomiah  and 
Aintab,  the  only  two  stations  in  western  Asia  where  a  physician 
laid  the  foundation,  furnish  the  most  marked  examples  of  suc- 
cess. In  these  two  places  the  work  advanced  more  rapidly, 
spread  more  exteiisively,  and  met  with  fewer  obstacles,  than  any- 
where else  in  the  region  round  about.  Saj^s  Dr.  Lobdell,  of  the 
work  at  Aintab,  as  late  as  April,  1852,  "  If  the  missionary 
should  refuse  to  prescri1)e  for  the  sick,  while  the  people  have  so 
nmch  more  confidence  in  him  than  in  the  native  physicians  (and 
that  missionary  was  not  a  regular  physician),  I  do  not  think  it 
would  be  lono-  before  there  would  be  a  decline  of  interest  in  the 
p;reat  matter  of  salvation."     T^:  fact  that  an  Armenian,  not  a 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  69 

Protestmt,  offered  Dr.  L.  one  thousand  piastres  if  he  would  stay 
and  lab:r  there,  instead  of  passing  on  to  Mosul,  shows  how  the 
matter  is  viewed  by  men  who  have  no  interest  in  the  truth. 

No  one,  acquainted  with  the  tedious  years  of  hope  deferred, 
at  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  Broosa  and  Erzroom,  but  must 
be  struck  with  the  contrast  between  them  and  the  two  sta- 
tions referred  to.  Still,  in  Syria  there  are  physicians,  and  not 
the  same  progress ;  perhaps  because  they  were  not  there  at  first, 
to  give  character  to  the  mission,  and,  though  afterwards  useful, 
they  could  not  regain  the  ground  that  had  been  lost. 

Mosul,  as  we  shall  see,  had  to  contend  with  other  difficulties  ; 
but  the  advantage  of  having  Dr.  Grant  there  at  the  outset,  even 
after  so  long  an  interval,  is  still  felt  by  his  successors. 

We  have  seen  the  physician  who  prescribed  for  the  Governor 
of  Tabriz  selected  as  likely  to  meet  a  more  flivorable  reception  at 
Oroomiah  than  a  clergyman.  The  event  proved  the  wisdom  of  the 
selection.  Whatever  advantage  that  mission  has  derived  from  its 
excellent  location  and  the  general  favor  of  all  classes,  from  the 
very  first,  is  to  be  attributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  medical 
services  of  Dr.  Grant.  The  sympathy  of  the  Nestorians  with 
us,  as  common  opponents  of  papal  errors,  needed  much  tender 
nursing  before  it  could  ripen  into  sympathy  with  us  as  the  ad- 
vocates of  a  spiritual  religion.  Ignorance  and  jealousy,  selfish- 
ness and  the  intrigues  of  those  eager  to  sow  the  seeds  of  sus- 
picion, might  have  clouded  the  fair  dawn  of  the  enterprise,  had 
not  the  good  will  secured  by  such  a  physician  preserved  their 
confidence  till  it  was  confirmed  by  a  spiritual  appreciation  of 
better  things.  That  the  good  will  of  the  Moslems  was  secured 
at  first  m.ainly  by  Dr.  Grant,  is  testified,  with  generous  candor, 
by  his  excellent  colleague,  when  he  says,  of  the  remark  of  a 
Persian  noble,  on  their  first  arrival,  "  Your  coming  here  is  like 
the  rising  of  the  sun  upon  the  world,"  "  The  khan,  doubtless, 
alluded  to  the  prospect  of  temporal  benefit  from  Dr.  Grant's 
practice  in  medicine,  and  my  giving  secular  instruction."     An- 


70  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  X  D     T  II  E 

other  of  the  missionaries  says  that,  on  account  of.  his  medical 
practice,  Dr.  Grant  had  had  more  than  twenty  times  as  much 
intercourse  with  the  Mohammedans  as  the  missionary  sent  out 
expressly  for  them.  Not  that  the  physician  deserves  more 
credit  than  the  ordained  missionary,  or  that  we  ought  to  fix  the 
amount  of  credit  due  to  different  individuals  ;  but  these  things 
are  mentioned  that  the  usefulness  of  missionary  physicians  may 
be  appreciated,  and  that  we  may  see  the  trials  of  Dr.  Grant,  in 
leaving  his  children,  were  not  endured  for  naught. 

But  the  missionary  physician  is  also  useftil  in  prolonging  the 
lives  of  his  associates ;  and,  if  ever  there  was  a  station  where  a 
physician  was  needed  for  that  purpose,  that  station  is  Oroomiah. 
Situated  far  in  the  interior,  out  of  the  reach  of  other  educated 
physicians,  it  is  also  peculiarly  unhealthy.  The  great  heat 
of  summer,  joined  to  the  abundant  irrigation  of  the  plain,  and 
the  decaying  vegetable  matter  that  must  abound  in  a  region  of 
so  great  fcrtilit}',  produces  a  malaria  exceedingly  fruitful  in 
disease ;  and,  therefore,  no  small  part  of  the  usefulness  of  Dr. 
Grant  consisted  in  ministering  to  his  associates  in  their  frequent 
sickness.  That  these  views  of  his  usefulness  as  a  physician 
are  not  exaggerated,  may  be  seen  from  the  following  extract  of 
a  letter  from  the  mission,  19th  January,  1839,  applying  for 
another  physician  to  take  his  place.  Having  given  an  account 
of  the  failure  of  his  health,  they  proceed  to  say  :  "  We  are  now 
reluctantly  constrained,  by  the  exigency  of  the  case,  to  request 
you  to  secure  another  physician  for  this  mission,  to  take  the 
place  of  Dr.  Grant.  We  are  aware  that  it  is  difficult  to  obtain 
men  with  all  the  important  qualifications  for  such  a  work ;  jet 
we  are  fully  persuaded  that  the  usefulness  of  a  missionary- 
physician  in  this  field  will  make  it  an  object  with  the  Board  to 
procure  one,  at  the  expense  of  almost  any  effort.  Whether  we 
regard  the  impression  made  on  the  Moslems  by  Dr.  Grant's 
medical  practice,  or  the  almost  constant  sickness  in  our  ov.'n 
families,  we  find  the  strongest  reasons  to  sustain  this  opinion. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  71 

The  good-will,  not  only  of  the  Nestorians,  but  of  all  classes,  has 
evidently  been  conciliated  by  his  gratuitous  practice,  and  that 
without  exciting  the  jealousy  even  of  the  native  physicians.  The 
prospect  of  a  war  between  Persia  and  England,  so  far  from 
exciting  hostility  against  us,  has  led  to  the  expression  of  the 
most  friendly  feelings  toward  all  of  us,  and  Dr.  Grant  in  par- 
ticular ;  and  numbers  have  expressed  a  strong  desire  that  we 
would  not  leave  the  country  with  the  officers  of  the  English 
embassy.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  feeling  is,  under 
Grod,  to  be  attributed,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  medical  prac- 
tice of  Dr.  Grant.  ^Ye  need  not  remind  you  that  the  continu- 
ance of  such  feelings  is  important  to  the  permanent  existence  of 
our  mission. 

"  As  respects  the  importance  of  a  physician  to  our  own  fam- 
ilies, we  do  not  speak  unadvisedly  when  Ave  say  that,  on  an  aver- 
age, half  our  number  have  been  sick  for  one-half  of  the  time;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Ilolladay,  all  have  been  seriously  sick 
during  that  period ;  and,  though  some  of  us  have,  from  time  to 
time,  been  raised  almost  from  the  brink  of  the  grave,  yet  our 
health  is  being  gradually  undermined  by  such  frequent  sickness 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  much  depends,  in  these  attacks, 
on  the  unmediate  attention  of  a  physician,  and  a  judicious  use 
of  medicine  on  the  first  symptoms  of  disease. 

"In  conclusion,  we  cannot  forbear  to  suggest  that  it  may  be 
missionary  economy  to  provide  for  the  health  of  your  mission- 
aries ;  for,  if  they  sink  under  the  influence  of  the  climate  just  as 
they  are  prepared  to  be  useful  [one  such  had  just  died],  this 
involves  a  heiivy  expense  to  recruit  our  ranks,  and  our  lalors, 
at  the  same  time,  must  be  less  effective." 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  of  Dr.  Perkins  to  the 
writer,  dated  June  15,  1852,  need  no  comment.  Speaking  of 
the  early  history  of  the  mission,  he  says : 

"  No  European  had  resided  in  this  remote  Persian  town,  and 
the  rude  and  bloody  character  of  its  Mussulman  inhabitants,  of 


72  D  11  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

the  formidable  Afishar  tribe,  at  that  time  was  so  notorious  that 
our  English  friends  at  Tabriz  deemed  our  enterprise  extremely 
hazardous.  Dr.  Grant  was  the  man  for  the  place  and  the 
period.  His  personal  intrepidity,  and  his  commanding  form  and 
mien,  —  things  which  so  strongly  impress  orientals,  —  especially 
in  connection  with  his  skilful  practice  as  a  physician,  soon  won 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  classes,  and  contributed  very 
materially  to  our  security  during  the  first  years  of  our  residence 
here,  and  to  the  permanent  success  of  our  mission,  —  more, 
doubtless,  than  any  other  earthly  means  or  influence.  It  was 
not  only  as  bestowed  on  the  natives  that  his  medical  services 
were  very  important  to  our  mission.  During  the  first  years  of 
our  residence  here,  we  ourselves  experienced  a  great  amount 
of  sickness,  partly  from  the  common  process  of  acclimation,  and 
partly  from  confinement  in  a  hot  city  during  the  entire  summer. 
Under  God,  he  restored  me  from  the  very  brink  of  the  grave, 
when  carried  thither  by  a  violent  and  distressing  fever,  sixteen 
years  ago.  For  several  days  I  was  entirely  unconscious,  so  that, 
for  a  time,  he  despaired  of  my  recovery;  but  our  heavenly 
Father  smiled  upon  his  ceaseless  efforts,  and  raised  me  up  again 
to  life.  The  little  I  have  been  enabled  to  accomplish  during 
these  sixteen  years,  —  indeed,  that  I  have  been  an  inhabitant  of 
3arth,  —  I  owe,  instrumentally,  to  the  skill  and  assiduity  of  Dr. 
Grant.  Nor  am  I  the  only  one  of  our  circle  deeply  indebted 
to  him  as  a  physician." 

It  may  not  be  too  much  to  say,  then,  that,  but  for  the  services 
of  Dr.  Grant,  the  history  of  the  mission  to  the  Nestorians  might 
have  been  easily  written,  ending  in  the  sad  record  of  the  death 
of  the  pioneers,  far  from  the  reach  of  all  medical  assistance. 

Though  Dr.  Grant  left  America  in  excellent  health,  with  a 
good  constitution,  and  inured  to  hardship  and  fatigue,  yet  in 
July  he  was  prostrated  with  intermittent  fever ;  and,  before  he 
fairly  recovered,  the  labor  and  care  of  attendance  on  other 
members  of  the   mission,   dangerously  ill,  with   other   causes, 


MOUNTAIN     N  K  S  T  0  R I  A  N  S  .  ^6 

induced  a  severe  attack  of  the  cliolera,  that  bronglit  him  to  the 
very  gates  of  death.  lie  had  all  the  appalling  symptoms  of  a 
state  of  collapse  in  that  fatal  disease ;  and,  though  he  was  able 
to  direct  to  the  use  of  remedies  blessed  to  his  restoration,  his 
system  never  fully  recovered  from  the  blow.  Ever  after,  his 
stomach  rejected,  more  or  less  frequently,  every  variety  of  food. 
Severe  neuralgic  pains  and  cramps,  the  recurrence  of  intermit- 
tent fever,  and  other  effects  of  the  miasma  of  the  plain,  were  the 
occasion  of  almost  constant  suffering.  His  own  account  of  their 
situation  that  summer,  is  contained  in  the  following  extract  of  a 
letter  to  his  mother,  dated  October  11,  1836 : 

"  My  Dearest  Mother  :  #  #  #  #  The  Lord  has  been  visit- 
ing us  with  sickness  for  some  months  past.'  I  have  had  two  or 
three  attacks  of  fever,  and  my  eyes  have  been  so  inflamed  as  to 
require  me  to  bleed  and  blister  freely.  Mrs.  Perkins  and  the 
dear  children  have  also  suffered  from  ophthalmia.  Mr.  Perkins 
and  the  ladies  have  each  had  tv/o  or  three  returns  of  fever.  He 
was  so  low  as  to  be  insensible  for  several  days.  At  the  same 
time,  his  little  son  was  so  sick  with  croup  that,  several  times,  we 
thought  he  was  breathing  his  last.  Providentially,  I  was  able, 
with  much  effort,  to  attend  on  them;  but,  on  the  16th  ult.,  I 
was  brought  to  the  borders  of  eternity  by  a  violent  attack  of 
cholera.  ^  ^  ^  =5^  The  Lord,  in  great  mercy,  has  raised  us  all 
up  again.  Let  us  sing  of  his  loving  kindness  all  the  days  of  our 
life  !  Do  not  think  these  trials  made  me  doubt  whether  I  was  in 
the  path  of  duty.  No,  dear  mother.  While  expecting  each  hour 
to  be  my  last,  I  could  have  testified  to  the  world  the  excellence 
of  the  missionary  work.  May  my  dear  sons  be  prepared  to  more 
than  fill  their  father's  place,  and  may  we  all  have  grace  to  labor 
faithfully  while  we  may  !  " 

To  his  brother  he  adds,  at  a  later  date  :  "  In  such  circum- 
stances, for  how  much  of  this  world  do  you  think  I  would  have 


74  D  11  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

exchanged  my  hope  in  Christ  ?  0,  how  all  its  wealth  and  hon- 
ors sink  into  insignificance  !  But  the  riches  of  grace,  through 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  —  how  rich  !  how  free  !  All  I  had  ever 
done  or  suffered  for  Christ  vanished  into  nothing,  as  I  thought  of 
what  he  had  done  to  purchase  such  peace  of  mind  as  I  then 
enjoyed,  though  racked  with  excruciating  pain." 

This  sickness  brought  out  in  prominent  relief  the  excellent 
qualities  of  his  character.  Mr.  Perkins  had  just  gone  to 
Tabriz.  The  whole  care  of  the  mission  devolved  on  him ;  and 
only  women  and  children  were  about  him,  needing  his  services, 
rather  than  able  to  assist.  Yet,  though  spasms  pervaded  his 
whole  system,  —  though  his  features  were  sunken,  his  breath 
cadaverous,  his  extremities  quite  cold  and  shrivelled,  and  his 
voice  so  hollow  as  with  difficulty  to  be  understood,  —  he  calmly 
observed  every  symptom,  and  prescribed  accordingly,  at  the 
same  time  continuing  his  superintendence  of  the  affairs  of  the 
mission ;  and  though,  while  recovering  from  this,  fever  and  ague 
set  in,  yet,  four  days  after  the  attack,  he  was  able  to  entertain 
one  of  the  royal  princes  of  Persia,  —  MalekKassim  M€erza,  — 
not  only  at  his  table,  but  with  an  examination  of  the  school  that, 
as  it  was  vacation  time,  he  had  summoned  together  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  prince  was  highly  delighted,  and  expressed  his 
unqualified  commendation  of  the  school,  urging  the  scholars  to 
learn  the  language  and  literature  of  the  English,  as  well  as  their 
own.  That  this  was  no  trifling  honor  will  appear  from  the  fact 
that  a  Persian  prince  never  condescends  to  enter  the  house  of 
one  of  his  own  subjects,  whatever  his  rank ;  and  even  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Oroomiah  was  not  allowed  to  sit  down  in  the  presence 
of  this  one.  It  showed,  too,  some  energy  of  will,  as  well  as 
strength  of  constitution,  that,  in  such  circumstances.  Dr.  Grant 
was  able  to  attend  to  this  and  the  other  duties  devolving  on 
him,  in  the  absence  of  his  associate. 

These  "  other  duties,"  in  ordinary  times,  were  by  no  means 
few  or  small.     Besides  his  professional  labors,  —  so  abundant 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  75 

that,  in  one  year  from  his  arrival,  he  had  prescribed  for  about 
ten  thousand  patients,  and  operated  for  cataract  more  than  fifty 
times,  —  he  taught  a  class  in  English,  instructed  his  medical 
student,  had  the  partial  supervision  of  the  boys'  boarding-school, 
received  and  returned  the  visits  of  the  Mohammedans,  had  the 
care  of  the  secular  and  pecuniary  affairs  of  the  mission,  and 
superintended  the  three  village  schools,  —  a  work  requiring,  at 
that  time,  a  much  more  vigilant  superintendence  than  now,  when 
the  teachers  are  better  educated  and  more  trustworthy.  The 
jealousy  of  the  Moslems,  at  so  much  attention  being  shown  to  the 
Nestorians,  obliged  him,  also,  to  devote  a  smali  part  of  each  day 
to  teaching  a  school  for  them.  The  boar*^ing-school  was  opened 
Jan.  18,  1836,  with  seven  scholar?.  The  very  next  day  the 
number  increased  to  seventeen,  and  as  early  as  May  it  amounted 
to  forty. 

To  Dr.  Grant,  his  most  interesting  labor  was  the  care  of  a 
Sabbath-school,  that  commenced  on  the  24th  of  Jan.,  1836,  with 
some  tiventV'five  scholars,  and  in  July  had  increased  to  fifty. 
In  this  he  had  the  aid  of  six  teachers,  —  Mar  Yohanna,  four 
pi-iests  and  a  deacon.  They  met  in  a  large  room,  forty  feet 
5y  twenty,  without  any  floor  but  the  earth ;  the  walls  built  of 
the  same  material,  and  the  flat  roof  covered  with  the  same  prim- 
itive protection  from  the  weather.  The  scholars  sat  on  coarse 
mats,  on  the  floor,  as  attentive  as  any  Sabbath-school  children 
in  America,  and  recited  their  lessons,  committed  to  memory  from 
the  gospel.  These  were  then  explained  by  their  teachers,  as 
they  had  been  instructed  by  the  missionaries.  After  that,  Dr. 
Grant  made  practical  remarks,  as  our  superintendents  do  at 
home,  and  the  whole  was  closed  by  singing  a  psalm  in  the 
ancient  Syriac.  No  wonder  that  he  writes,  in  a  postscript  to 
one  of  his  letters,  "  I  regi*et  that  all  my  communications  bear 
the  marks  of  so  much  haste.  But  what  shall  I  do  ?  If  I  write 
at  all,  I  must  do  it  in  a  hurry,  or  neglect  other  important  duties. 
The  preparation  of  medicine,  the  care  of  the  sick,  of  my  pupils, 
7 


76  DR.GRANTANDTIIE 

and  the  secular  affairs  of  the  mission,  leave  me  little  more  than 
the  night  for  study.  Of  that  I  use  as  much  as  I  dare,  and  still 
I  have  not  enough." 

All  this  i^ressure  of  labor,  the  time  necessarily  devoted  to  the 
acquisition  of  both  Turkish  and  Syriac,  and  his  frequent  illness, 
did  not  prevent  his  laboring  for  Christ  in  gther  ways.  In 
March,  1837,  he  wrote  his  "  Appeal  to  Pious  Physicians,"  so 
extensively  circulated  as  a  missionary  tract ;  and  his  letters  to 
friends  in  America  show  that  he  could  find  time  to  plead  with 
the  unconverted,  comfort  the  bereaved,  and  try  to  train  up  his 
children  to  be  holy  and  useful. 

Writing  to  an  imponitent  brother,  Feb.,  '36,  he  says  :  "  I  feel 
the  more  anxiety  for  you  because  of  the  critical  period  of  life  to 
which  you  have  arrived,  and  ibe  many  temptations  around  you. 
If  a  man  settles  in  life  unconverted,  tho  chances  are  very  much 
against  his  ever  becoming  a  Christian.  '  The  cares  of  this  world, 
and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  choke  the  word,  an<3  it  becometh 
unfruitful.'  The  heart  set  upon  the  world  thinks  little  of  more 
durable  riches.  It  is  so  taken  up  with  its  earthly  habitation, 
that  it  thinks  little  of  the  '  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens.'  You  have  the  little  Bible  which  I  gave  you  -, 
and,  while  I  hope  it  sometimes  reminds  you  of  an  absent  brother, 
his  ardent  prayer  is  that  its  precious  truths  may  make  you  wise 
unto  salvation.  -^  ^  ^  ^  Did  you  know  my  anxiety,  dear 
brother,  on  your  account,  you  would  not  blame  me  for  saying 
so  much." 

Writing  to  his  mother  and  sister,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of 
his  father,  May  11,  he  says:  "We  had  fondly  hoped  to  have 
welcomed,  ere  this,  a  letter  from  the  hand  of  our  dear  father ; 
but,  instead  of  that,  our  first  intelligence  concerning  him  is  that 
he  is  no  more.  Fain  would  we  have  been  present  to  minister 
at  his  bed-side,  and  then  mingle  our  tears  with  yours ;  but,  as 
nearly  seven  months  passed  away  before  the  news  of  your  be- 
reavement reached  our  distant  home,  we  had  not  the  privilege 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  77 

of  sympathizing  with  you,  even  in  spirit.  This  is  one  of  the 
sore  trials  of  the  missionary.  But  we  rejoice  that  you  have  oim 
Friend,  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother,  and  who  graciously 
styles  himself  the  God  of  the  widow  and  fatherless." 

Again,  writing  to  his  sister  on  the  same  subject,  June  15,  he 
says  \  ^'-^  ^  ^  ^  Dear  sister,  is  it  not  consoling  to  think,  as 
one  after  another  of  our  loved  ones  are  taken  away,  that  they 
have  joined  the  company  that  may,  ere  long,  welcome  us  also  to 
their  blest  abode  ?     0,  Mary,  what  a  time  will  that  be,  when, 
clothed  in  a  Redeemer's  righteousness,  we  shall  sit  down  with 
him  in  his  kingdom,  to  go  no   more  out  forever  !     If  we  are 
indeed  his,  it  will  be  but  a  few  short  days  ere  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is ;  and  we,  now  so  far  separated,  shall  meet  those  who 
have  gone  before  us,  and  mingle  our  praises  with  the  redeemed 
from  every  nation  under  heaven.     Pray,  dear  sister,  that  multi- 
tudes here  may  be  gathered  in  through  our  unworthy  instrument- 
ality.    0,  how  much  we  need  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ! " 
So  intimately  in  his  mind  was  united  "  the  rest  that  remain- 
eth "  with  his  earthly  toil,  he  could  not  think  of  them  apart. 
His  affectionate  heart  did  not  soon  cease  to  feel  so  severe  a  loss ; 
and,  therefore,  we  are  not  surprised  to  hear  him,  on  the  anni- 
versary of  that  bereavement, —  Oct.  11,  —  thus  addressing  his 
mother  :   "  ^  =^  ^  ^  How  many  we  loved  on  earth  have  gone 
before  us  to  the  mansions  prepared  by  our  Redeemer  !     And  if 
we,  through  his  rich  mercy,  are  permitted  to  behold  their  glory, 
what  a  company  of  those  with  whom  we  took  sweet  counsel  in 
this  vale  of  tears  will  welcome  us  to  their  eternal  embrace,  and 
tread  with  us  those  golden  streets,  while,  with  all  the  redeemed, 
we  ascribe  '  Blessing  and  honor  and  glory  and  power  unto  him 
that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  forever.'     There 
will  be  no  more  sighs  and  tears  ;  and  there  I  trust  you,  my  dear 
mother,  will  not  regret  our  short  separation  in  this  transitory 
world." 

The  yearning  heart  of  the  father  reveals  itself  in  the  touch- 


78  DR.GRANTANDTHE  ^ 

ing  simplicity  of  the  two  following  letters  to  his  absent  children, 
and  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  what  it  cost  him  to  be  separated  from 
them. 

"  Tabriz,  Persia,  May  18,  1838. 

"  My  Dear  Hastings  :  I  was  told  long  ago  that  you  had 
learned  to  write,  and  I  have  wished  very  much  to  see  a  letter 
from  you.  Why  have  you  not  written  to  your  dear  father  ?  I 
hope  you  will  write  very  often,  and  tell  me  where  you  are, 
what  you  are  doing,  —  whether  you  have  good  friends,  good 
books,  good  schools,  good  preaching,  and  whether  you  and 
your  little  brother  are  good  boys.  When  I  get  no  letters  from 
you,  I  sometimes  fear  that  you  and  Edwin  will  forget  your  dear 
father,  or  that  you  do  not  love  him  and  your  dear  mother  as  we 
love  you.  We  think  of  you  and  your  dear  brother,  and  talk 
about  you,  aiid  pray  for  you,  every  day  ;  and  2ve  lace  you  very 
much.  We  feel  very  anxious  that  you  should  both  be  very  good 
boys,  and  learn  well,  and  love  those  who  take  care  of  you  and 
instruct  you ;  that  you  should  love  your  dear  father  and 
mother,  and  your  little  brother,  Henry  Martyn ;  but  especially 
that  you  should  love  Jesus  Christ,  who  gives  you  these  friends 
and  every  good  thing  you  have,  and  who  gave  his  precious  life 
to  save  you  from  sin.  When  we  hear  that  you  are  good  boys,  we 
feel  very  happy  ;  but  if  we  hear  that  you  have  been  bad  boys, 
and  done  wickedly,  our  hearts  are  very  heavy  —  we  feel  sad 
and  unhappy. 

"  You,  my  dear  Hastings,  are  so  much  older  than  your  little 
brother  Edwin  that  you  should  try  to  teach  him  to  be  a  good 
boy,  and  do  what  will  please  God  and  your  dear  parents  and 
friends.  You  must  teach  him  by  your  example,  as  well  as  by 
your  words.  For,  if  he  should  see  you  do  wrong,  he  will  not  mind 
when  you  tell  him  that  he  must  be  a  good  boy.  If  he  sees  you 
neglect  what  your  good  teachers  and  friends  tell  you,  or  sees 
you  play  on  the  Sabbath,  or  take  things  without  liberty,  he  will 
very  likely  do  wickedly   too.     If  he  hears  you  use  bad  Ian- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  79 

guage,  or  tell  lies,  I  fear  he  will  do  so  also.  But,  if  jou  always 
do  rio-ht,  you  will  teach  3^our  little  brother  to  do  right  too  ;  and 
thus  you  will  do  good,  please  God  and  your  friends.  I  have 
written  to  your  Uncle  Ira  and  Mr.  Shaw  to  provide  good 
friends  and  a  good  home  for  you,  so  that  you  may  learn  well, 
and  be  prepared  to  do  good  to  others.  But  you  must  always 
look  to  God,  your  heavenly  Father,  to  take  care  of  you.  He  says 
in  his  word,  '  They  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good 
thing.'  '  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness, 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.'  Do  you  re- 
member that  when  the  Lord  asked  Solomon  what  he  should  give 
him,  Solomon  asked  the  Lord  for  an  understanding  heart  ;  and 
God  Avas  pleased,  and  gave  him  wisdom,  riches  and  honor  ? 
Now  you,  my  dear  son,  should  pray  for  an  understanding  heart, 
that  you  may  be  wise  and  good,  and  then  you  will  be  happy." 

In  the  same  letter  he  says  :  "  I  hope  that  the  followers  of  Him 
who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head  will  think  less  of  accumulat- 
ing wealth,  and  more  of  using  it  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
When  will  Christians,  bought  with  a  Saviour's  blood,  learn  to 
lay  up  their  treasures  in  heaven  ?  0,  to  see  as  much  anxiety 
for  investing  funds  in  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  God  as  in 
railroads  and  bank-stock  !  If  Christians  felt  the  blessedness  of 
living  wholly  for  God,  what  a  different  state  of  things  should  we 
see  in  the  church  !  I  feel  nwre  and  more  that,  ere  the  world  is 
converted,  Christians  must  come  up  to  a  higher  and  holier  stand- 
ard of  consecration  to  God.  They  must  feel  that  the  great  busi- 
ness of  life  is  to  be  co-workers  with  Jesus  Christ,  in  saving  this 
lost  world.  Instead  of  taxing  every  energy  of  soul  and  body  to 
heap  together  a  Rttlo  shining  dust,  their  daily  inquiry  should  be. 
What  can  1  do  to  honor  my  Saviour,  and  save  my  dying  fellow- 
men  from  sin  ?  These  are  motives  worthy  of  the  powers  of 
Gabriel,  and  they  should  be  first  in  our  minds  when  we  lie  down 
and  when  we  rise  up.  We  should  carry  them  to  our  daily  toil ; 
7# 


80  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

we   should  feel  that  our  time,  our  property,  our  influence,  our 
children,  all  belong  to  God.      We  are  mt  our  own. 

"  I  hope  that  you  and  Edwin  may  come  out  here  as  mis- 
sionaries, if  you  are  good  boys.  It  would  be  a  most  happy 
meeting  for  us  all,  if  I  could  see  you  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God  in  this  distant  land.     We  pray  that  this  may  be  the  case, 

that  you  will  seek,  first  of  all,  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 

righteousness,  and  live  to  his  glory.     Pray  much  for  your  dear 
father  and  mother,  and  little  Henry,  that  the  Lord  may  spare 
our  lives,  and  make  us  very  useful  in  his   service.     Give  our 
love  to  all  our  friends  who  inquire  respecting  us. 
"  From  your  ever  affectionate  father, 

"  AsAHEL  Grant." 

"  My  Dear  Edwin  :  Do  you  remember  your  dear  father  ?    It 

is  a  long  time    since  you  have  seen  me.     You  were  then  a 

very  little  boy.     I  think  you  are  now  much  larger,  and  know 

much  more  than  when  I  left  you.    I  am  happy  to  hear  that  you 

can  read.     I  hope  you  love  to  read  good  books ;  they  will  make 

you  wise  and  good.     Do  you  love  to  read  the  word  of  God  ? 

That  is  the  best  of  all  books.     I  wish  very  much  to  see  you, 

and  I  wish  you  could  see  your  dear  mother,  and  your  little 

brother,  Henry  Marty n.     He  is  very  small  yet.    He  runs  about 

the  house  and  the   door-yard,  and  talks  a  little,  but  not  very 

plain.     He  was  sick  a  long  time,  and  we  feared  he  would  die. 

But  God  was  very  good  to  him,  and  he  is  now  very  well.    Your 

dear  mother  thinks  he  looks  like  you.     She  has  fourteen  little 

girls  to  teach.     When  we  came  to  Persia  none  of  the  little 

girls  knew  how  to  read  ;  but  now  some  of  them  are  learning.     I 

hope  that  all  the  little  boys  and  girls  will   learn  to  read,  and 

learn  to  love  God.     I  hope  you  love  Jesus  Christ,  and  pray  to 

him  very  often.     Will  you  not  pray  every  day  for  your  dear 

father,  mother  and  brothers  ?    You  must  love  your  teachers, 

and  the  dear  friends  who  take  care  of  you.     Remember   that 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  81 

Christ  IS  your  best  friend.     That  you  may  love  him,  do  every- 
thing to  please  him,  and  be  very  happy,  is  the  daily  prayer  of 
"  Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

"  AsAiiEL  Grant." 

The  •'  little  brother  "  referred  to  in  the  last  was  born  on  the 
3d  of  June,  1836,  and  suffered  much  in  his  infancy  from  the 
climate,  that  proved  fatal  to  so  many  of  his  playmates  on  the 
mission  premises. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  brother  Ira,  Oct. 
26,  1837,  reveals  something  of  his  trials  with  reference  to  his 
children  : 

u  #  #  ^  My  great  desire  for  my  dear  sons  is  that  they  may 
be  entirely  the  Lord's.  You  say  that  Mr.  Shaw,  after 
much  effort  to  obtain  for  them  a  home,  found  none  willing  to 
assume  so  responsible  a  charge  (Mr.  Smith,  with  whom  he  left 
them,  had  died).  AVere  all,  then,  willing  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bility of  leaving  those  little  orphans  without  a  home  ?  Would 
Christians,  who  might  train  them  up  for  God,  be  free  from  guilt, 
if,  through  their  neglect,  they  grew  up  in  sin?  Or  would  they 
be  blameless,  with  regard  to  the  perishing  here^  if,  for  the  same 
reason,  it  became  my  duty  to  return  to  take  charge  of  them  ? 
What  if,  when  a  fellow-missionary  lay  dangerously  sick,  I  should 
refuse  the  responsibility  of  prescribing  for  him  ?  Would  I  not 
be  held  to  answer  for  his  death  ?  And  yet,  how  often  are  Chris- 
tians unwilling  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  doing  a  thing 
they  know  ought  to  be  done,  without  thinking  of  the  greater 
responsibility  of  leaving  it  undone  !  A  Christian  cannot  free 
himself  from  responsibility  in  any  question  of  duty  that 
comes  before  him.  For  his  decision  in  each  he  is  accountable 
to  God.  If  the  path  of  duty  is  not  clear,  we  must  obtain  light, 
then  decide.  I  know  the  responsibility  was  great  in  my  decid- 
ing to  come  to  Persia;  but  would  it  have  been  less,  had  I  de- 
cided not  to  come  ?     That  was  a  burden  I  dared  not  assume. 


82  U  R  .     G  K  A  N  T     AND     THE 

Where  duty  is  plain,  a  man  cannot  hope  that  he  is  a  Christian, 
if  he  refuses  to  do^it.  If  our  hearts  were  wholly  given  to  (xod, 
we  should  feel  that  all  we  could  do  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
was  our  dearest  privilege^  and  that  word  would  take  the  place 
of  duty  in  our  religious  vocabulary." 

In  the  beginning  of  1837  Dr.  Grant  suffered  again,  through 
over-exertion  while  still  weak  from  previous  illness.  Mr.  Per- 
kins was  yet  unable  to  labor,  and,  as  he  could  not  bear  to  see 
their  efforts  suspended,  he  staggered  on  under  too  great  a  bur- 
den till  his  associate  was  able  to  resume  his  duties.  Then  over- 
wrought nature  gave  way,  and  for  five  weeks  he  was  scarce  able 
to  leave  the  house.  But  soon  he  says,  with  his  accustomed  cheer- 
fulness, "  Through  the  mercy  of  God  we  are  all  able  to  engage 
again  in  our  increasingly  interesting  work." 

Still  his  health  needed  to  be  confirmed,  and  to  this  end  he 
devoted  more  time  to  labors  in  the  surrounding  villages.  In 
one  of  these  excursions,  —  June  24,  1837, —  he  visited  the 
ruins  of  Gugerchine  castle,  four  hours  north-east  of  Gavalan. 
They  are  on  an  insulated  cliff",  that  rises  abruptly  from  the  lake 
about  eight  hundred  feet,  and  can  be  reached  only  by  a  winding 
path  cut  out  of  the  rock,  that  passes  over  two  drawbridges  at  a 
giddy  elevation.  The  low  neck  of  land  which  joins  it  to  the  shore 
is  fortified  by  a  wall  and  fosse,  and  on  the  summit  deep  caverns 
are  found  among  the  ruins.  A  spring  gushing  from  the  side  of 
the  cliff  furnished  an  abundant  supply  of  water  for  this  strong- 
hold of  former  days. 

On  the  12th  of  July  he  visited,  for  the  second  time,  the  Kurd- 
ish chief,  of  Burdasoor,  at  his  castle,  nearly  six  hours  west  of 
Oroomiah.  This  is  perched  on  a  projecting  rock,  several  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  river  that  foams  below.  Its  thick  stone 
walls,  am.ple  reservoir,  magazine,  subterranean  passage,  and  the 
wild  mountain  scenery  around,  must  have  prepared  him  for  his 
future  waiiderings  in  Kurdistan.     The  chief  received  him  very 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS. 


83 


kindly,  and  urged  him  to  bring  his  family  to  reside  for  a  time  in 
the  castle. 

That  these  excursions  were  not  always  without  danger  will 
appear  from  the  fallowing  adventure  at  Ada,  November  11, 
1836.  Mr.  Perkins  and  Dr.  Grant,  with  their  wives  and 
Priest  Abraham,  were  walking  quietly  through  the  village,  — 
they  had  just  left  the  house  of  Mar  Yoosuf,  whose  guests  they 
y^^ere,  —  when  three  ruffians,  of  a  class  called  Lootee,  placed  a 
horse  across  their  path  to  provoke  an  affray.  The  thick  hedge 
prevented  their  going  round  it,  and  Priest  Abraham  stepped 
forward,  mildly  requesting  them  to  remove  it.  Their  only 
answer  was  an  attempt  to  stab  him.  Seeing  the  inoffensive 
priest  in  such  danger,  Mr.  Perkins  instinctively  sprang  forward, 
and  the  assassin  at  once  turned  on  him.  Nothing  but  the  provi- 
dential fall  of  Mr.  Perkins  at  the  moment  saved  him  from  in- 
stant death.  As  it  was,  the  dagger  cut  through  his  clothes  and 
punctured  his  side,  without,  however,  inflicting  serious  injury. 
Seeing  his  associate  thus  hard  beset,  Dr.  Grant,  who  was  behind, 
flew  to  the  rescue,  and,  unarmed  as  he  was,  drew  his  riding-whip 
with  such  good  effect  across  the  villain's  eyes  as  to  turn  his  fury 
in  another  direction.  In  the  subsequent  confusion,  the  whole 
party  escaped  into  a  house ;  and,  besides  Mr.  Perkins,  the 
priest  was  the  only  other  person  injured.  The  timely  interference 
of  Dr.  Grant  doubtless  saved  the  valuable  life  of  Mr.  Perkins. 
He  writes  to  his  sons  afterwards,  from  Mosul,  "  Have  you  got 
the  riding-whip,  with  a  deep  cut  in  it  near  the  handle,  which  I 
sent  you  in  the  box  ?  That  cut  was  probably  the  means  of  pre- 
serving the  life  of  Mr.  Perkins.  The  fact  of  my  running  to  his 
rescue  was  entered  on  the  mission  records,  under  his  direction  ; 
so  please  keep  the  whip  as  a  memento  of  the  occurrence." 

The  whole  affair  was  overruled,  by  the  God  they  served,  to 
their  greater  security  in  that  land  of  violence  ;  for,  through  the 
efforts   of  the  British  ambassador,  the  Lootee  received  such  a 


84  .  D  R  .    G  11  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

chastisement  from  the  Persian  authorities  as  made  people  care- 
ful how  tl  cj  injured  any  member  of  the  mission. 

If  Dr.  Grant  was  abundant  in  labors,  so  was  his  companion. 
She  was  able  to  commence  her  missionary  work,  as  soon  as  she 
arrived,  with  the  ecclesiastics  who  had  learned  English  with  ISIr. 
Perkins  at  Tabriz  ;  and  now  appeared  the  good  fruits  of  her 
thorough  education.  The  bishops  in  her  family  —  Mar  Yohanna 
and  Mar  Yoosuf — wondered  to  see  a  woman  learning  Syriac 
through  the  Latin ;   and  got  new  ideas  of  female  worth  when, 
reading  together   in   the   New   Testament,  she  turned  to  the 
Greek  for  the  meaning  of  some  difficult  passage.     It  may  be 
questioned  whether  the  impressions  they  received,  as  they  sat 
at  her  table  and  marked  the  Christ-like   spirit  that   governed 
all  her  conduct,  did  not  prepare  the  way  for  the  unheard-of  ex- 
periment of  a  girls'  school,  as  much  as  her  untiring  efforts  did 
for  its  establishment.     For,  finding  it  impossible  to  begin  such 
a   school  at  once,  owing  to  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  she 
first  taught  her  own   domestics   to  read,  and  then  sought   to 
interest  her  own  sex  in  the  education  of  their  daughters.     She 
succeeded  so  well  in  this,  that  at  length  the  desire  of  her  heart 
was  gratified  in   the  establishment  of  a  female  seminary.     Of 
this   she  was  the  first  teacher,  and  with  such  ardor  did  she 
engage  in  the  work,  that,  when  unable  to  leave  her  chamber,  she 
had  the  scholars  assemble  there  ;  for  hers  was  a  zeal  that  even 
sickness  could  not  abate.    The  female  seminary,  since  so  blessed 
under  the  superintendence  of  Misses  Fisk  and  Rice,  opened  on 
the  12th  of  March,  1838,  with  four  pupils.     In  the  course  of 
two  weeks,  so  favorable  was  the  impression  she  made,  that  the 
number   doubled,  and  before  the   19th  of  June  she  had  four 
times  as  many  as  at  first. 

As  early  as  January,  1836,  she  had  written  to  a  friend  : 
"  I  do  not  know  how  the  Nestorians  would  regard  efi'orts  for 
the  instruction  of  girls,  as  they  are  valued  only  in  propor- 
tion to  the  aoney  they  earn;  but  Mrs.  Perkins  and  I  intend  to 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOllIANS.  85 

make  the  experiment.  If  we  can  be  but  the  means  of  educat- 
ing one  or  two,  who  can  calculate  the  vast  amount  of  good  we 
might  accomplish  ?  Great  watchfulness  and  circumspection  are 
necessary  to  this  object,  as  example  is  a  much  better  teacher 
than  precept.  There  is  no  danger  of  our  setting  too  bright  an 
example  of  Christianity." 

She  had  readily  learned  to  speak  the  Turkish,  and  in  a  short 
time  was  able  to  read  the  ancient  Syriac.  The  modern  Syriac, 
irregular  as  it  is,  she  not  only  read,  but  wrote  also.  When 
Parley's  Geography  w^as  translated  by  Mr.  Perkins,  she  pre- 
pared the  maps  for  it ;  and  taught  a  class  in  Woodbridge's 
Geography,  in  which  Priest  Abraham,  John  and  a  promising 
deacon,  were  added  to  the  bishops,  and  her  Mohammedan  pupil, 
Meerza  Asaad  Ullah. 

In  one  of  her  letters  she  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  interior 
life  of  the  mission,  telling  us  of  the  Bible-class  on  Monday  and 
Saturday  evenings,  when  the  missionaries  and  their  native  help- 
ers studied  together  the  word  of  life.  On  Tuesday  evenings, 
the  former  met  together  for  mutual  consultation.  And  then 
there  were  their  reunions  twice  a  week,  begun  Nov.  6,  1837, 
when  the  natives  presented  their  English  sentences  for  criticism 
to  the  missionaries,  and  then  criticized,  in  turn,  the  Syriate  of 
their  teachers.  Thursday  evening  was  devoted  to  a  prayer- 
meeting  ;  and  on  Sabbath,  after  two  religious  services  in  Syriac 
and  one  in  English,  they  met  together  with  the  Nestorians  to 
sing  the  Lord's  songs  in  that  strange, land,  which  yet  to  them 
was  not  strange,  for  it  was  their  chosen  home,  a  land  they 
loved.  Mrs.  Grant,  though  suffering,  like  her  husband,  from  the 
climate,  yet  writes  to  her  friends,  June  1,  1837,  "  I  think 
I  can  say,  sincerely,  the  two  past  years  have  been  the  happiest 
of  my  life,  and  nothing  but  imperious  necessity  could  ever 
induce  me  to  leave  Oroomiah."  Dec.  26,  1838,  in  a  letter  she 
did  not  live  to  finish,  after  telling  that  not  long  before  the 
doctor  prescribed  for  ten  of  their  number  in  one  day,  and  that 


86  DR.     GRANT      AND      THE     NESTORIANS. 

her  left  eye  was  destroyed  by  a  severe  attack  of  ophthalmia,  slie 
adds,  "  But,  through  the  great  goodness  of  God,  one  eye  still 
continues  strong.  0  for  a  heart  to  praise  Him  !  "  While  her 
husband  kept  up  his  old  habits  of  reading,  as  time  permitted,  she 
honored  her  mother's  training  in  reading  with  him  "  Maculloch 
on  Malaria,"  as  well  as  more  pleasant,  if  not  more  interesting 
volumes. 

But  her  labors  were  not  mere  literary  efforts.  The  medical 
practice  of  her  husband  —  I  had  almost  said  her  own  —  intro- 
duced her  among  all  classes ;  and,  welcomed  by  her  own  sex  alike 
in  the  palace  and  the  beggar's  hut,  she  went  about  doing  good. 
If  it  is  interesting  to  see  Nestorian  bishops  instructed  by  her  out 
of  the  Scriptures,  as  was  ApoUos  once  by  the  good  Priscilla,  it 
were  no  less  so  to  follow  her  into  the  homes  of  her  degraded  sex 
in  Persia,  and  see  her  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love.  No  trait 
in  her  character  was  more  conspicuous  than  her  skill  in  the  sick 
chamber.  Which  of  her  suffering  associates  could  not  join  the 
pioneer  of  the  mission,  and  say,  "  Like  Mercy's  angel,  we  be- 
held her  hastening  from  room  to  room,  when  several  of  us  were 
sick  at  once.  Like  her  Master,  she  went  about  doing  good." 
Still,  amid  such  a  variety  of  cares,  her  household  affairs  were 
not  neglected  ;  everything  moved  on  in  quiet  regularity,  and,  as 
others  looked  on  her  attentions  to  her  little  son  and  twin-daugh- 
ters, and  also  to  the  three  native  children  of  whom  she  had  the 
care,  they  wondered  how,  with  her  weak  health,  she  ever  found 
time  for  anything  else.  But,  with  all  these  labors,  her  only 
hope  for  success  was  in  God.  Writing  to  Mr.  Merrick,  March 
7,  1836,  she  says,  "  I  am  every  day  more  and  more  convinced 
that  this  is  a  most  dreadfully  wicked  country ;  'nothing  but  the 
almighty  power  of  God  can  produce  a  change  for  the  better. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

INTEEEST    IN     THE    MOUNTAINS  —  CORRESPONDENCE    WITH    COL.    SHEIL    AND 

DE.  RIACH SCHULTZ FAILURE  OF    HEALTH DEATH   OF   MRS.  GRANT  — 

POLITICS   OF   KURDISTAN. 

Dr.  Grant  was  deeply  interested  in  the  Nestorians  of  the 
mountains,  even  before  he  left  America.  The  importance  of 
that  field,  and  its  difficulty,  were  just  the  things  to  recommend 
it  to  his  enterprising  spirit.  In  a  communication  to  D2'.  Ander- 
son, dated  Nov.  15,  1837,  he  says :  "  When  I  first  looked  on 
tiiis  as  my  field  of  labor,  the  brightest  beams  of  hope  seemed  to 
radiate  from  the  mountains.  I  felt  it  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  enter  them  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  the  hope  that  my  knowl- 
edge of  medicine  would  enable  me  to  meet  danger  with  more 
impunity  than  others,  was  one  of  the  strongest  motives  to  my 
coming.  From  that  day  to  this,  I  have  kept  the  subject  con- 
tinually before  me,  and  its  importance  has  by  no  means  dimin- 
ished in  my  mind,  as  a  means  of  reviving  the  Nestorian  church, 
and  evangelizing  the  whole  region  around."  No  mountaineer 
visited  the  city  but  knew  these  feelings,  and  loved  him  for 
them ;  and  no  Kurd  ever  came  for  medicine  who  was  not  made 
to  contribute  some  information  for  future  use  in  the  enterprise. 
For  three  years  Dr.  Grant  laid  siege  to  the  mountains,  encamped 
at  their  base,  watching  for  the  first  available  point  of  access 
to  their  unknown  interior.  Like  John  Williams,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  globe,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  be  confined  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  reef  while  the  wide  ocean  lay  before  him. 

Perhaps  it  was  well  that  some  in  the  mission  were  as  prudent 
8 


88  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

as  he  was  ardent ;  for  He  who  wisely  composes  the  church  at 
home  of  men  of  diflerent  ages  and  temperaments  does  not  leave 
missions  to  one-sided  influences,  but  sets  one  thing  over  against 
another,  that,  by  a  proper  balance,  he  may  secure  the  highest 
good.  Perhaps,  by  himself.  Dr.  Grant  would  have  entered  too 
soon,  as  others  might  have  deferred  too  long.  But  God  used 
discouragements  to  render  his  purpose  firmer ;  and,  when  it  had 
grown  strong  enough  to  bear  the  hunger  and  weariness,  the  pain 
and  the  peril,  before  it,  then  he  led  him  into  the  theatre  for 
which  he  had  been  training  him  from  the  first. 

And  here  let  us  hear  the  testimony  of  his  earliest  associate  in 
the  field.  Says  Mr.  Perkins,  in  the  letter  to  the  writer  already 
quoted,  "  If  Dr.  Grant's  holy  enthusiasm,  either  in  the  antici- 
pation or  prosecution  of  that  difiicult  and  perilous  enterprise, 
sometimes  got  the  better  of  his  judgment  in  too  zealously  press- 
ing forward  the  work,  or  too  fondly  embracing  his  chei-ished 
theory,  it  was  owing  to  his  quenchless  ardor  in  the  cause  of 
Christ,  of  which,  in  most  missionaries  even,  we  see  far  too  little. 
If  that  enthusiasm  ever  amounted  to  a  fault,  we  can  easily 
excuse  it,  so  strongly  did  it  lean  to  virtue's  side.  It  was  the 
outburst  of  a  great  heart  yearning  and  throbbing  agonizingly 
over  the  mournful  desolations  of  those  he  verily  believed  to  be 
heirs  of  salvation  according  to  the  promise." 

As  early  as  Dec,  1835,  an  aged  priest,  from  near  Julamerk, 
and  an  uncle  of  Mar  Shimon,  dined  with  the  mission  in  Oroo- 
miah.  In  the  following  February  Dr.  Grant  enjoyed  his  first 
interview  with  a  brother  of  Mar  Shimon  ;  and,  in  April  of  the 
same  year,  he  had  a  visit  from  Selim,  Kurdish  Pasha  of  Araa- 
dieh,  the  brother  of  Ismael,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  again.  On 
the  26th  of  March  Mr.  Perkins  had  written  a  friendly  letter  to 
Mar  Shimon,  and  just  two  months  later  he  received  an  answer, 
equally  friendly,  begging  a  watch,  and  requesting  to  know  at 
what  time  he  would  visit  him,  that  he  might  send  a  guard  to 
protect  him  from  the  Kurds. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  89 

July  1,  Dr.  Grant  wrote  to  the  Prudential  Committee,  urging 
the  importance  of  entering  the  mountains  as  soon  as  practicable, 
because  they  formed  a  part  of  the  field  assigned  to  the  mission, 
and  the  main  body  of  the  people  was  there.  The  variations  in 
the  spoken  language  rendered  an  acquaintance,  with  all  its 
dialects  desirable  before  translating  the  Scriptures,  or  even  pub- 
lishing tracts  in  it  for  the  people.  The  work  should  progress 
in  all  parts  of  the  field  at  once,  that  a  common  sympathy  might 
pervade  the  whole,  and  one  part  not  advance  alone  in  intelli- 
gence, so  as  to  become  an  object  of  suspicion  to  the  other.  The 
Patriarch,  too,  resided  in  the  mountains ;  and  it  w^as  important 
that  he  should  not  be  left  behind  in  the  movement  of  the  clergy 
and  people  on  the  plain.  There  was  no  telling  what  mischief 
might  arise,  should  enemies  get  in  before  us,  and  fill  his  ear 
with  slander  before  he  had  become  acquainted  for  himself  with 
our  principles  and  plans ;  and  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that 
Papists,  who  strained  every  nerve  to  oppose  us  on  the  plain,  and 
were  already  posted  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  would 
delay  to  operate  against  us  there. 

These  arguments  left  no  doubt  of  the  desirableness  of  the 
undertaking.  Each  subsequent  page  of  the  history  of  the  mis- 
sion commends  the  far-seeing  wisdom  that  perceived  them  at 
that  early  day.  It  does  not  become  us  to  find  fault  with  events 
as  Providence  has  arranged  them ;  and  yet,  had  Mar  Shimon 
been  brought  earlier  under  the  influence  of  the  evangelical 
movement  in  Oroomiah,  his  situation  might  have  been  a  more 
happy  one  to-day.  Or  had  Rome  got  possession  of  a  position 
not  only  commanding,  but  looking  down  into  ours  on  the  plain, 
it  is  easy  to  see  at  what  a  disadvantage  we  must  ever  after  have 
fought  the  good  fight  of  faith.  When  Dr.  Grant  sav/  how  Prov- 
idence had  mercifully  preserved  the  mountaineers  from  the 
enemy  till  he  had  brought  us,  as  it  were,  on  purpose  for  their 
deliverance,  his  soul  was  grieved  at  every  day's  delay :  he 
longed  to  fly  to  their  help  at  once. 


90  DR.      GRANT     AND     THE 

But,  though  the  desirableness  of  the  enterprise  was  estab- 
lished, the  great  question  remained,  Is  it  practicable  ?  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Dwight  were  deterred,  by  representations  of  its 
impracticability,  from  entering  the  mountains  in  1830.  Mr. 
Perkins  was  instructed  by  the  Board,  in  September,  1833,  to 
"  visit  the  Patriarch  as  soon  as  may  be,  lest  perverse  men  should 
prejudice  his  mind  against  you ;  "  and,  accordingly.  Dr.  Grant 
set  himself  to  work  to  ascertain,  as  accurately  as  might  be,  the 
perils  of  the  enterprise,  and  see  whether  or  no  they  were  really 
an  insurmountable  objection.  He  longed  to  enter ;  but,  accord- 
ing to  an  old  adage,  he  would  look  before  he  leaped. 

He  had  already  written  to  Mr.  Dwight,  and  received  an 
answer,  dated  Sept.*  6, 1836,  in  which  he  says  :  ''  I  consider  the 
object  a  very  important  one  ;  and,  were  I  in  your  situation, 
would  certainly  try  hard  to  secure  it.  And  yet,  I  would  not 
run  great  risk  for  the  sake  of  going  immediately.  Your  being 
u  physician  would,  doubtless,  be  of  great  advantage  in  the 
undertaking." 

As  the  ground  had  never  been  gone  over  by  any  European, 
it  was,  of  course,  impossible  to  gain  information  from  such. 
The  only  way  was  to  make  inquiries  of  such  mountaineers  as  he 
met  with,  the  Persian  authorities  conversant  with  that  region, 
and  such  European  travellers  as  had  gone  nearest  the  route  in 
question.  While  he  made  unceasing  inquiries  of  the  two  former 
classes,  one  of  the  latter  was  fortunately  within  reach ;  and  to 
him  —  Col.  Shell,  brother  of  the  celebrated  member  of  Parlia- 
ment —  he  addressed  a  letter,  inquiring  whether  he  considered 
it  unsafe  to  visit  Tyary,  and  stating  that  Mar  Shimon  had 
invited  him  to  visit  him,  and  promised  him  a  guard  through  the 
country  of  the  Kurds ;  that  he  had  ascertained  he  could  go  the 
usual  route,  through  the  Hakkary  country,  in  three  days,  and 
sleep  each  night  in  a  Christian  village ;  or  a  more  southern  one, 
through  Burdasoor,  where  the  chief  was  his  friend,  and  would 
protect  him  to  Mar  Beeshoo,  a  Nestorian  village,  only  fevirteen 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  II I  A  N  S  .  91 

hours  from  the  Patriarch.  He  asks  whetlicr  he  would  advise 
him  to  accept  the  invitation  of  Mar  Shimon,  and  confide  in  his 
promise  of  a  guard.     Col.  Shell  replied,  June  22  : 

"  For  myself,  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  visit  Tyary 
with  a  guard  from  Mar  Shimon,  and  would  feel  perfectly  safe 
in  doing  so.  But,  in  your  case,  much  would  depend  on  the 
feelings  of  the  priesthood  toward  your  labors  [Col.  S.  was 
an  Irish  Catholic].  With  the  protection  of  the  chiefs  you  men- 
tion, I  should  say  there  was  no  danger  whatever  in  the  under- 
taking. The  journey  is  practicable,  beyond  a  doubt,  and  the 
danger  not  very  great,  —  much  less,  I  presume,  than  you 
anticipate." 

Such  was  the  encouraging  reply  of  the  fearless  colonel,  whose 
kindness  to  Dr.  Grant  neither  begun  nor  ended  here.  But,  so 
much  had  been  said  of  the  madness  of  the  .undertaking,  that,  in 
October,  he  wrote  to  his  good  friend  Dr.  Riach  for  his  opinion 
of  the  matter.  The  reply  of  the  "  canny  Scot  "was  much  more 
cautious  than  that  of  the  Irish  soldier.  He  begins  by  saying 
that  no  European  can  travel  there  without  danger ;  yet  there 
is  little  prospect  of  its  being  removed  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
But  —  and  it  is  amusing  to  see  how  carefully  he  considers  the 
matter  —  if,  just  before  entering,  the  Hakkary  country  is  quiet ; 
if  Yahya  Khan,  of  Salmas,  offers  a  guard,  and  pledges  your 
safety ;  if  the  Kurds  were  as  well  disposed  to  Persia  as  they 
now  are,  and  the  Persian  authorities  gave  letters  to  Yahya 
Khan  calling  on  him  to  protect  you;  if,  besides  the  guard 
from  him,  you  have  one  also  from  Mar  Shimon;  and  if 
your  baggage  is  so  scanty  as  not  to  excite  the  cupidity  of 
the  Kurds ;  —  if  all  or  most  of  these  circumstances  were 
combined,  I  should  think  there  was  considerable  prospect 
of  safet^f  to  a  judicious  person.  He  closes  with  the  remark, 
"  I  feel  much  more  strongly  than  ever  that  your  mission  must 
be  broun;ht  into  contact  with  the  Mountain  Nestorians."  With 
all  its  caution,  it  will  be  seen  that  his  letter  is  eminently 
8# 


92  D  11  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

judicious.  The  good  man  —  who,  in  July,  had  gone  two  hun- 
dred miles  out  of  his  way  to  visit  the  missionaries,  and  cheer 
them  in  their  work  —  evidently  felt  an  aifectionate  solicitude 
for  the  safety  of  his  professional  brother,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
was  anxious  that  the  journey  should  be  performed. 

Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  this,  —  Nov.  15,  —  Dr.  Grant 
wrote  to  the  committee;  and,  after  reviewing  w^hat  has  just 
been  made  known  to  the  reader,  he  says :  "  The  letter  of  Dr. 
Riach  is  characterized  by  candor  and  caution.  I  fully  agree 
with  him  that  we  cannot  soon  hope  for  a  change  that  will  render 
the  undertaking  entirely  safe.  For  centuries  the  Kurds  have 
been  the  same  wild  marauders.  Last  year  Reschid  Pasha  sub- 
dued a  part  of  Kurdistan ;  but  none  in  modern  times  have  pen- 
etrated to  the  Hakkary  country,  nor  is  there  any  speedy 
prospect  that  it  will  be  done.  Numerous  as  are  the  doctor's 
conditions,  they  might  almost  all  be  met  at  once.  As  for  guards, 
I  would  like  one  or  two  guides  from  Yahya  Khan ;  but  I  would 
sooner  trust  to  the  coarse  garb  of  the  mountaineers,  and  that 
frankness  and  kind  feeling  that  commend  themselves  even  to  the 
savage,  than  to  a  regiment  of  soldiers.  When  the  attempt  will 
be  made  depends  on  the  majority  of  the  mission  and  your 
instructions.  In  my  last  I  expressed  the  opinion  that,  as 
repeated  illness  had  prevented  that  progress  in  the  language 
that  was  desirable,  the  attempt  should  be  deferred  till  another 
year. 

"Whoever  goes  should  spend  several  months  in  familiar  inter- 
course with  the  people  by  the  wayside,  and  in  their  smoky  huts. 
He  should  win  their  confidence  by  unwearied  kindness,  and 
study  their  character  and  institutions  under  the  varied  circum- 
stances of  their  wild  mountain-life.  As  to  the  number  that 
should  go  :  On  the  one  hand,  he  might  feel  lonely,  and  in  need 
of  counsel,  —  he  would  also  feel  the  want  of  help  in  sickness ; 
but,  on  the  other,  one  would  attract  less  notice,  and,  in  case  of 
violent  death,  the  loss  to  the  mission  would  be  less  serious. 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  3  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  93 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  fiito  of  Schultz ;  but  we  may  make 
too  much  of  a  single  case,  without  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
circumstances.  I  have  taken  pains  to  learn  the  facts  in  the 
case,  and  both  Turks  and  Persians  agree  that  he  made  an  inju- 
dicious show  of  wealth.  He  v/as  the  agent  of  a  European 
monarch,  carried  various  astronomical  instruments,  had  a  great 
deal  of  baggage,  and  made  splendid  gifts  to  the  Kurdish  chiefs. 
They  naturally  thought  his  boxes  were  full  of  money,  and  sus- 
pected that  he  was  surveying  their  country  for  his  king ;  there- 
fore the  wonder  is  not  that  he  fell  at  last,  but  that  he  escaped  so 
long.  Again,  this  is  the  only  attempt  to  enter  the  mountains ; 
and  had  Mr.  Samuel,  who  was  robbed  between  here  and  Tabriz, 
been  the  only  European  who  had  visited  Oroomiah,  the  road, 
doubtless,  would  be  considered  very  perilous,  especially  when 
taken  in  connection  with  the  eighty  murders  committed  in  the 
province  within  eight  months. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  would  repeat  my  sense  of  the  great  import- 
ance of  the  undertaking  ;  and,  unless  prevented  by  unexpected 
providences,  I  stand  ready  for  all  the  perils  of  the  enterprise. 
I  have  felt  it  duty  to  lay  the  subject  thus  fully  before  you, 
with  the  reasons  for  my  views,  that,  if  the  attempt  be  not  made, 
the  responsibility  may  not  be  mine.  I  would  not  defeat  the 
object  by  undue  haste ;  but,  with  the  evidence  before  you,  would 
it  be  an  unwarranted  exposure  of  life  to  make  the  attempt  at 
an  early  day,  should  nothing  extraordinary  prevent  ?  Admit- 
ting that  there  is  danger,  does  our  commission  guarantee 
exemption  from  it  ?  Does  the  experience  of  Paul  warrant  us 
to  expect  it  ?  I  look  on  this  journey  as  the  first  step  to  more 
extended  usefulness,  and  a  wider  diffusion  of  the  gospel." 

The  reader  will  pardon  this  minuteness  of  detail ;  but,  wheft, 
on  the  one  hand,  Dr.  Grant  is  charged  with  "  courting  death  at 
every  step,"  and,  on  the  other,  his  journey  into  the  mountains 
is  sneered  at  as  an  every -day  affair,  justice  to  the  memory  of  a 
good  man  requires  that  things  be  stated  just  as  they  occurred. 


94  DK.      GRANT     AND     THE 

He  did  not  take  a  single  step  till  he  had  carei'ully  reconnoitred 
the  whole  ground.  The  event  showed  the  wisdom  of  his  plan, 
and  justified  the  zeal  that  pursued  it  so  long  and  so  steadily. 

But  the  time  for  the  attempt  was  not  yet.  A  reinforcement 
must  first  arrive  to  strengthen  the  mission,  and  a  larger  experi- 
ence must  fit  him  for  the  work.  It  may  seem  strange,  but  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  the  loss  of  his  health,  so  as,  at  one  time, 
to  excite  serious  apprehensions  for  his  life,  was  one  of  the  means 
employed  by  Providence  to  open  for  him  this  new  sphere  of 
usefulness.  The  diseased  action  of  his  stomach,  already  referred 
to,  continued  steadily  to  increase.  He  did  not  retain  food  long 
enough  to  impart  nourishment  to  the  system,  and  his  strength 
was  so  prostrated  that  he  once  fainted  when  rising  in  a  social 
meeting  to  engage  in  prayer.  He  managed  to  live  only 
as  he  left  the  city,  and  rode  to  the  purer  air  of  the  distant 
villages.  Uniformly,  while  absent  from  Oroomiah,  his  health 
improved,  and  as  often  as  he  returned  it  grew  worse.  He  went 
to  Tabriz  in  February,  1838;  and,  though  worse  than  usual 
before  he  left,  did  not  vomit  once  during  an  absence  of  three 
weeks.  He  spent  his  time  there  w^ith  his  dear  friend  Dr.  Riach, 
who  was  horror-struck  at  the  change  wrought  in  the  hale,  robust 
man  he  had  welcomed  there  not  three  years  before ;  yet  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  his  color  returned,  and  that  he 
gained  in  flesh,  and  improved  in  every  respect,  while  with  him. 
He  returned  to  Oroomiah,  and  again  relapsed.  Immediately  on 
hearing  of  this.  Dr.  Kiach  wrote  to  the  mission  that  they  must 
apply  for  another  physician ;  and  suggested  that  his  labors  for 
the  Nestorians  need  not  terminate,  as  the  mountains  ought  to  be 
explored,  and  all  knew  that  he  was  just  the  man  for  that  work. 

.In  the  spring  Dr.  Grant  superintended  the  village  schools, 
which  had  now  increased  to  twelve,  in  as  many  difi"erent  villages, 
and  in  doing  so  had  ridden  a])0ut  five  hundred  miles  since  his 
return  from  Tabriz,  —  still  vomiting,  more  or  less,  every  day. 
On  April  14  he  wrote  to  the  committee,  giving  an  account  of 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  95 

his  health ;  expressing  the  fear  that,  unless  the  measures  he  was 
then  pursuing  should  prove  successful,  his  constitution  would 
not  hold  out  longer  than  another  year  in  the  miasma  of  Oroo- 
miah.  He  adds  :  "  I  often  wonder  that  I  am  able  to  sustain  so 
much  fatigue,  and  am  thankful  that  it  is  so,  as  mj  hopes  of 
prolonged  life  and  usefulness  depend  upon  it.  The  question 
becomes  a  very  serious  one.  What  shall  be  done  ?  I  am  most 
deeply  interested  in  the  Nestorians,  and  know  of  no  other  peo- 
ple on  earth  with  whom  I  would  prefer  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  my  days.  Indeed,  it  would  be  like  parting  with  life  to  give 
up  the  hope  of  performing  some  humble  part  in  fitting  them  to 
spread  the  gospel  over  these  regions  of  darkness  and  death. 
Nothing  but  the  clearest  convictions  of  duty  will  ever  induce  me 
to  leave  my  post.  But,  if  my  usefulness  here  must  end  either 
by  death  or  a  removal  from  this  station,  whether,  in  that  case, 
I  must  see  all  my  fond  hopes  of  usefulness  among  this  people 
blasted,  I  must  submit,  under  God,,to  the  Prudential  Committee."' 

At  this  period  the  pressure  of  1837  was  just  beginning  to  be 
felt  in  Oroomiah.  It  crippled  every  department  of  missionary 
effort;  and,  amid  the  disbanding  of  schools  and  dismission  of 
native  helpers,  the  invalid  hardly  dared  to  incur  expense  for  the 
restoration  of  his  failing  health.  But  business  requiring  that 
some  one  should  go  to  Tabriz,  he  went,  and  again  experienced 
relief.  His  religious  feelings  at  this  time  are  sweetly  described 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Stocking,  dated  May  23,  at  Tabriz  : 

"  Truly  we  have  great  occasion  for  gratitude  in  the  rich 
mercies  of  our  heavenly  Father.  Let  us  evince  it  by  untiring 
efforts  to  do  his  will  in  all  things.  We  need  the  spirit  of  obe- 
dient children,  striving  at  all  times  to  please  a  kind  Parent,  and 
more  afraid  of  his  displeasure  than  of  anything  else.  How  kind 
God  is,  when  his  children  go  astray,  to  bring  them  back  by  the 
rod  of  correction  !  Surely  he  has  designs  of  mercy  in  afflicting 
our  mission  so  much  with  sickness.  He  intends,  first,  to  make 
us  partakers  of  his  holiness;  and,  when  he  has  thus  prepared  us 


96  DR.      G  11  ANT     A  N  I)     THE 

for  his  service,  I  trust  he  will  pour  us  out  a  blessing.  He  will 
first  bkss  our  own  souls,  and  then  make  us  blessings  to  ethers. 
0,  that  we  may  all  be  blessings  to  each  other,  and,  by  our  holy 
conversation  and  godliness,  incite  each  other  to  fidelity  in  our 
Master's  work  !  We  need  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and 
we  may  have  it,  and  thus  do  more  in  a  few  months  or  years 
than  in  a  long  life  without  it.  How  much  more  anxious  should 
we  be  for  His  presence  than  for  health  or  long  life  !  Let  us 
feel  that  Christ  is  our  life,  and  our  great  concern  will  be  to  have 
him  dwelling  in  us,  the  hope  of  glory." 

He  returned  to  Oroomiah,  only  to  relapse  again,  with  every 
symptom  more  obstinate,  and  threatening  permanent  organic 
disease.  Writing  on  the  subject  to  his  mother,  he  says,  Oct.  9, 
1838,  "  It  is  doubtless  the  effect  of  a  hostile  climate,  and  occa- 
sions much  suffering;  but  I  do  not  mind  that,  while  I  have 
strength  to  labor,  as  I  have  most  of  the  time.  What  the  result 
will  be  is  known  only  to  our  heavenly  Father,  and  I  rejoice 
that  He  will  order  all  things  well.  I  do  not  feel  anxious  for  the 
future,  or  whether  my  work  be  long  continued,  provided  it  is 
well  done.  I  trust  I  feel  willing  to  do  or  to  suff'er  the  will  of 
God;  and,  blessed  be  his  name,  there  remaineth  a  rest  to  his 
people  where  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying  ; 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain."  Alluding  to  the  excel- 
lent history  of  the  missions  of  the  Nestorians,  in  the  Herald  for 
August,  he  expresses  his  joy  that  those  once  so  active  in  spread- 
ing the  gospel  through  the  world  were  now  receiving  such  in- 
struction as.  by  the  blessing  of  Grod,  might  prepare  them  again 
to  send  forth  heralds  of  salvation,.and  adds,  "Let  me  but  have 
some  humble  part  in  this  glorious  work,  and  I  shall  not  have 
come  here  in  vain,  thougji  my  stay  here  be  hut  short.  You  may 
ask  whether  now  I  regret  entering  on  the  work.  No,  never. 
I  often  feel  keenly  my  absence  from  dear  ones  at  home,  —  yes, 
home  ;  the  thought  revives  a  thousand  hallowed  recollections  of 
maternal  love.     But  we  hope  to  meet  in  happier  mansions,  even 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R I  A  N  S  .  97 

those  which  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare."  On  the  20th  of  August 
the  mission  passed  a  resolution  concurring  in  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Riach,  that  as  a  continued  residence  in  Oroomiah  was  so  danger- 
ous for  Dr.  Grant,  it  was  expedient  that,  as  soon  as  possible, 
he  seek  a  more  favorable  climate ;  and  on  the  19th  of  January, 
1839,  they  made  formal  application  for  another  physician  to  take 
his  place. 

Just  before  this  was  done,  Dr.  Grant  was  called  to  suffer  a 
greater  loss  than  he  had  yet  endured  ;  for  the  loss  of  a  loved 
companion  at  home  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  same  loss  in  a 
foreign  land.  Mrs.  Grant  was  taken  sick  of  a  violent  fever 
on  the  3d ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  that  skill  or  affection 
could  devise,  she  died  on  the  14th  of  January,  1839,  aged 
twenty -five  years  and  two  days.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  on  her  death-bed  there  were  no  regrets  for  having  become  a 
missionary  ;  and  that  she  rejoiced  to  lay  her  body,  far  from  those 
of  her  friends,  among  the  people  for  whom  she  had  loved  to 
live.  On  the  evening  of  the  6th  she  spoke  with  much  feeling  to 
her  associates  on  being  wholly  the  Lord's,  and  having  their 
conversation  in  heaven ;  for,  from  the  first,  she  did  not  expect  to 
recover.  Enfeebled  by  disease,  and  doubtless  no  less  worn  out 
by  sympathy  with  the  sufferings  of  her  husband,  she  felt  that  she 
could  not  survive.  At  one  time  she  said,  "  To  think  of  dying 
and  being  free  from  sin  and  suffering,  in  the  presence  of  God,  is 
most  delightful.  It  is  rapturous  !  "  But  said  she,  again,  "  It 
is  all  through  grace,  grace,  grace.  I  renounce  myself  entirely. 
It  is  through  the  riches  of  God's  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus  that  I 
shall  enter  heaven."  Her  life,  especially  after  her  conversion, 
seemed  so  black  and  odious,  she  could  not  bear  to  look  on  it ; 
but  when  her  husband  spoke  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ  as 
all-sujQicient,  "Yes,"  she  replied,  "  ife  is  my  all  —  mj  all !  " 
Speaking  to  him  of  their  approaching  separation,  she  said,  "  It 
will  be  but  for  a  little  while.  What  a  happy  meeting  that  will 
be !  —  all  tears  wiped  from  every  eye,  and  no  more  death." 


98  DR.GRANTANDTHE 

The  prospect  of  meeting  Christ  gave  her  more  joy  than  all  else. 
"  I  used  to  think  much  of  meeting  my  dear  mother  and  Chris- 
tian friends,  and  still  it  is  precious  to  know  they  will  be  there. 
But  it  seems  to  me  the  presence  and  glory  of  Christ  will  so 
absorb  me,  I  shall  wish  to  think  of  nothing  else."  She  felt 
unworthy  to  suffer  for  Christ,  and  longed  to  be  more  worthy  of 
such  a  privilege. 

From  the  first,  her  only  anxiety  about  the  result  was  that 
God  might  be  glorified.  In  taking  leave  of  the  bishops  and 
others  connected  with  the  mission,  she  told  them  she  was  about 
to  leave  them  and  go  to  heaven,  and  earnestly  desired  them  to 
meet  her  there,  adding,  "  If  I  have  one  desire  to  live,  it  is  for 
the  sake  of  you  and  your  people.  For  myself,  I  am  ready 
to  depart ;  not  on  account  of  any  good  w^orks  of  mine,  but  only 
through  faith  in  Christ  and  his  righteousness.  He  is  all  my 
hope,  and  must  be  yours  also,  if  you  would  meet  me  in  heaven." 
It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten.  All  were  in  tears ;  and 
some  wept  aloud,  entirely  overcome  with  grief.  Most  had  been 
her  pupils,  and  witnessed  her  untiring  efforts  for  their  salva- 
tion. They  knew  that  for  this  she  had  left  all  dear  to  her  at 
home ;  and  now,  as  they  witnessed,  for  the  first  time,  the  power 
of  the  gospel  in  a  dying  hour,  a  subdued  and  tender  spirit  of 
inquiry  was  awakened,  and  the  missionaries  found  it  easier  to 
preach  Christ  and  salvation  through  his  blood  than  ever 
before. 

From  the  day  of  this  interview,  she  was  delirious  till  her 
death ;  sometimes  fancying  herself  again  with  the  playmates 
of  her  youth,  sometimes  in  her  family,  and  again  absorbed  in 
anticipation  of  heaven,  till  she  entered  there. 

During  her  sickness,  all  classes  manifested  the  utmost  desire 
for  her  recovery.  A  venerable  bishop,  residing  some  miles  dis- 
tant, was  so  anxious  for  her  that  he  stayed  on  the  mission 
premises  several  days  and  nights.  "  In  the  church,"  one  of 
them  said,  "  after  our  usual  prayers,  we  all  kneeled  down  and 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  99 

prayed  from  our  liearts  that  she  might  be  spared."  The  Mo- 
hammedan Meerza,  who  had  lived  in  her  family,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  could  not  sleep  at  night,"  and  wept  like  a  child,  in  ap- 
prehension of  the  event.  Afterwards  he  said,  "  I  know  why  she 
did  not  fear  to  die ;  she  had  faith  in  Jesus.  She  has  gone  to 
Paradise."  Was  not  this  kind  interest  of  the  people  for  whose 
sake  she  had  left  home  and  friends  something  of  the  hundred- 
fold promised  to  such  even  in  the  present  lif\3  ? 

The  morning  after  her  death,  several  of  the  bishops  said  to 
Dr.  Grant,  "  We  will  bury  her  in  the  church,  where  none  but 
holy  men  are  buried.  She  has  done  so  much  for  us,  we  want  the 
privilege  of  doing  something  for  her,  and  will  dig  her  grave 
with  our  own  hands."  More  than  all  else  she  had  desired  that 
her  death  might  be  the  means  of  salvation  to  the  Nestorians ;  and 
eternity  alone  will  show  how  much  connection  it  had  with  the 
subsequent  revivals  in  that  interesting  field. 

Two  days  after  her  death.  Dr.  Grant  thus  wrote  to  the  mis- 
sionary with  whom  they  had  travelled  together  from  Constanti- 
nople to  Tabriz  : 

"  '  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate 
Is  privileged  beyond  the  common  walks 
Of  virtuous  life,  quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven.' 

"  Such,  dear  brother,  is  the  room  you  so  recently  occupied  in 
our  happy  home.  Our  much-loved  Judith  is  released  from 
toil  and  suffering  on  earth,  to  join  the  glorious  company  before 
the  throne,  where  '  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor 
crying;  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain.'  There  she  lies, 
lovely  even  in  death,  —  that  familiar  smile  upon  her  features, 
the  last  impress  of  Heaven's  seal.  The  voice,  silent  here, 
wakes  in  louder,  sweeter  strains  amid  the  anthems  of  the  skies. 
Dear  brother,  I  know  you  will  weep  as  I  have  wept,  but  not  for 
her.  She  was  ready  for  her  summons.  She  had  committed  her 
precious  babes,  and  all  she  held  dear  on  earth,  to  her  Saviour, 
with  the  sweetf^st  assurance  that  he  would  do  all  things  well. 
9 


100  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

"  The  bridegroom  found  her  with  her  lamp  trimmed  and  burn- 
ing, and  waiting  for  her  Lord.  Death  had  no  terrors  to  her. 
She  looked  on  him  as  a  messenger  sent  to  call  her  home.  With 
inexpressible  delight  she  exclaimed,  '  0  the  presence  of  Christ  I 
It  is  everything  I  It  is  heave?i  to  the  Christian,  and  the  Lamb 
>s  the  light  thereof!  '  For  more  than  a  week  before  her  death, 
he  began,  with  the  utmost  composure,  to  set  her  house  in 
order ;  she  charged  me  to  tell  her  friends  she  never  regretted 
coming  to  Persia  as  a  missionary  ;  and  asked  the  prayers  of  the 
mission,  that  God  would  glorify  himself  in  the  event.  The  glory 
of  Grod  was  her  great  desire  through  her  whole  sickness,  and  she 
felt  she  could  die  most  cheerfully  for  such  a  result.  She  spoke 
very  feelingly  of  her  friends,  and  more  than  once  of  yourself 
0,  let  as  live,  dear  brother,  entirely  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
then  our  sojourn  here  will  indeed  appear  short,  very  short;  and, 
when  released  from  earthly  toil,  like  the  lonely  wanderer,  we  shall 
feel  inexpressible  happiness  in  the  view  of  home  —  an  eternal 
home !  What  a  blessed  truth,  there  remaineth,  therefore,  a  rest 
for  the  people  of  God  !  Think  of  your  departed  sister  as  now 
enjoying  that  rest  in  the  presence  of  the  Saviour  so  dear  to  her, 
who  is  waiting  to  welcome  us  to  the  same  glorious  abode. 

"  She  suffered  much  in  her  sickness  last  summer.  But  God 
does  not  cast  his  children  into  the  furnace  for  nothing.  He  was 
thus  preparing  her  for  his  own  immediate  presence  ;  and,  how- 
ever severe  our  trials,  they  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  glory  which  will  be  revealed  in  us,  if  we  are  indeed  the  sons 
of  God.     To  be  like  Christ  —  what  a  thought ! 

"  Mrs.  Stocking,  at  their  mother's  request,  has  taken  our 
dear  children,  and  perhaps  I  shall  board  witli  them  for  the 
present.  Can  you  not  come  and  occupy  my  house  with  me  ? 
I  need  not  say  you  will  be  vrelcomed  more  cordially  than 
ever  by  thosa  of  us  who  remain ;  but  you  will  miss  the  cor- 
dial pressure  of  one  warm  hand.  Is  it  too  much  to  v-ay  that  the 
flower  of  our  circle  has  been  taken  ?     Such,  at  least,  is  the  feel- 


MOUNTAIN     N.EST0RSAN3.  lOX 

ing  of  the  Nestorians.  God  knew  which  of  us  to  take,  in  order 
to  affect  them  most  deeply.  I  never  knew  such  deep  solemnity 
among  them  before.  May  it  result  in  a  glorious  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit ! " 

Her  children,  Henry  Martyn,  now  two  years  and  seven 
months  old,  and  the  twin  daughters,  five  months  old,  were  kindly 
taken  care  of  by  other  families  of  the  mission  ;  and  her  husband, 
with  his  illness  aggravated  by  this  sore  bereavement,  again 
found  refuge  in  Tabriz,  where  his  recovery  was  much  slower 
than  on  previous  visits.  While  there  he  secured  Russian  pro- 
tection for  the  mission,  as  the  English  ambassador  expected  soon 
to  leave,  and  procured  a  firman  for  an  out-station  at  Gavalan. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Malek  Kassim  Meerza,  he  had  also 
procured  the  following  rdkam  (edict)  from  the  Emir  En  Nizam, 
Governor-general  of  Aderbijan  : 

"  TO   HIS    HIGHNESS    YAHYA    KHAN,  GOVERNOR    OF    SALMAS,    A    ROYAL 
FAVORITE   AND   GREATLY    ESTEEMED: 

"  His  honor,  the  learned  Dr.  Grant,  proposes  to  travel  in  the 
country  of  the  Hakarees  and  that  vicinity.  To  the  royal  favor- 
ite it  is  written,  that  in  the  manner  which  may  be  necessary  he 
bestow  on  Dr.  Grant  the  attention  of  warm  friendship,  and  send 
two  or  three  persons  to  be  with  him  during  his  travels,  and  with 
the  greatest  diligence  take  care  of  him,  so  that  in  no  manner  of 
way  any  harm  approach  him,  that  in  the  greatest  security  and 
safety  he  may  return,  and  that  he  may  take  with  him  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens whomsoever  he  pleases,  it  being  obligatory  that  you 
command  his  attendants  not  to  hinder  his  having  associates,  and 
that  they  be  strictly  attentive  that  no  vexation  nor  trouble  hap 
pen  to  either  Dr.  Grant  or  his  associates. 

"  Given  in  Zoo  el  Hhadeth  el  Haram,  1254  a.  h." 

He  was  now  utterly  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  On  the  one  hand, 
his  children  at  home  needed  his  presence.     The  guardian  with 


102  .  i>rv.     GMIAN'T     AND     THE 

whom  he  left  them  had  died,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1836.  Hi6 
own  father,  on  whom  the  care  of  them  then  devolved,  had  died 
the  year  before.  A  younger  brother,  on  whom  he  next  de- 
pended, also  died  in  1837  ;  and  now  his  only  surviving  broth- 
er and  Rev.  Mr.  Shaw  had  the  temporary  care  of  them.  His 
children  at  Oroomiah,  too,  needed  attention.  The  mission  fam- 
ilies were  feeble,  and  pressed  with  the  care  of  their  own.  And 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  how  could  he  tear  himself  away  from  the 
work  at  this  critical  period,  when  the  goal  so  long  sought  was 
almost  in  sight?  He  again  proposed  to  the  committee  to  go  into 
the  mountains  and  collect  all  the  information  possible,  before 
returning  with  his  children  ;  then  stay  about  a  year  in  America, 
recover  his  health,  provide  places  for  them,  and  again  go  back  to 
the  mountains.  But,  before  he  had  finished  the  letter,  word 
came  from  Mr.  Homes,  at  Constantinople,  that  the  committee 
had  appointed  them  to  go  into  Mesopotamia  and  Kurdistan,  and 
fix  on  a  station  whither  Dr.  Grant  should  remove  with  his  family, 
and  Mr.  Homes  stay  till  a  reinforcement  should  arrive. 

It  was  by  this  time  past  the  middle  of  February,  and  the  be- 
reaved husband,  now  sadly  free  for  the  enterprise  to  which 
God  had  called  him,  hurried  back  to  Oroomiah,  to  prepare 
for  the  undertaking. 

But,  ere  we  set  out  on  the  journey,  let  us  take  a  view  of  the 
field  before  him.  At  what  time  the  Nestorians  entered  the 
Mountains  of  Kurdistan  it  seems  now  impossible  to  determine. 
The  merciless  Tamerlane,  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  doubtless  drove  multitudes  for  shelter  to  these  fast- 
nesses. But  other  facts  would  indicate  that  a  part  of  them 
had  previously  settled  there.  Indeed,  how  would  they  have 
dared  to  flee  thither,  had  not  some  of  their  own  people  been 
there  to  receive  them  ?  Kurdish  fanaticism  in  that  age  could 
have  been  scarcely  more  tolerable  than  that  of  Timoor  himself. 

The  Kurds  appear  to  have  been  there  from  a  very  early 
period.     Xenophon  and    his    Greeks,   b.    c.    400,  had  reason 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  103 

to  remember  them.  Some  say  that  the  Kir  mentioned  in 
^1  Kings  16  :  9,  Isa.  22  :  6,  and  Amos  1 :  5,  refers  to  the  Kiirds, 
and  that  thej  are  identical  with  the  Parthians,  who  slew  Crassus 
and  twenty  thousand  of  his  soldiers,  53  b.  c.  But,  though  these 
positions  are  doubtful,  yet  it  is  well  known  that  the  celebrated 
Saladin  was  a  Kurd,  and  others  besides  him*  have  risen  to 
distinction.  Dwelling  in  secluded  valleys,  separated  from 
one  another  by  rugged  mountains,  whose  snowy  sunmiits  pour 
down  streams  on  every  side  to  refresh  the  vegetation  below, 
their  character  partakes  at  once  of  the  force  and  exclusiveness 
peculiar  to  mountaineers.  Divided  into  numerous  tribes, 
whose  interests  often  interfere,  they  are  ferocious,  rather  than 
brave.  Accustomed  to  stratagem  and  surprise,  they  are  noted 
for  suspicion  and  treachery,  and  quite  as  celebrated  for  their 
robberies  as  for  either.  In  the  language  of  Mr.  Dwight,  "  They 
have  the  character  of  sly  rogues,  full  of  hospitality  and  full  of 
deceit.  This  witness  is  true."  Mr.  Rich,  who  gives  a  very 
good  character  to  the  tribes  further  south,  says,  "  Those  of 
Khoshnav  and  Rowandiz  are,  to  the  last  degree,  savage  and 
stupid ;  they  have  no  sort  of  scruple  about  murder,  but  would 
not  miss  a  prayer  for  the  world.  Years  ago,  two  districts 
quarrelled  about  a  dog,  and  seventy  men  fell  on  the  spot,  thirty 
of  them  in  a  mosque,  where  they  had  just  united  in  prayer  ;  and 
the  quarrel  is  kept  up  to  this  day."  ^ 

But  the  Hakkary  tribe  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  faithless  and 
ferocious  among  them.  Mr.  Rich's  tatar^  who  travelled  from 
Bagdad  to  Van,  through  Amadia  and  Julamerk,  said,  "  They 
were  wilder  than  any  Kurds  or  Arabs  he  had  ever  seen."  In 
this  goodly  class,  however,  he  seems  to  have  included  the  Moun- 
tain Nestorians  as  well  as  the  Kurds.  The  same  causes  that 
have  closed  the  Hakkary  country  to  travellers  from  without 
have  given  full  scope  to  the  development  of  Kurdish  character 
within. 

*  Kurdistan  and  Nineveh,  i.  150. 
9=* 


104  U  R  .     a  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  n  E 

But,  as  their  character  will  sufficiently  appear  in  what  followh, 
a  word  on  the  political  condition  of  Kurdistan  previovts  to  the 
visits  of  Dr.  Grant  may  here  suffice.  Nominally  subject  now  to 
Turkey  and  now  to  Persia,  but  never  really  to  either,  it  en- 
joyed a  wild  liberty  of  its  own,  listening  to  the  overtures  of 
both  sides,  as  seemed  most  favorable  at  the  moment  for  plun- 
der or  immunity.  The  tribes  were  governed  by  hereditary 
chiefs ;  though  the  inheritance  was  not  always  allowed  to  pass 
quietly  in  the  natural  course.  The  predecessor  of  the  emir  was 
the  father  of  his  nephew,  Suleiman  Bey,  to  whom,  of  course,  the 
government  rightfully  belonged.  Superior  abilities,  however, 
prevailed  over  hereditary  right ;  and  to  the  lawful  heir  was 
assigned  an  inferior  post,  his  rival  keeping  a  strict  look-out  for 
anything  like  an  effort  to  recover  his  own.  He  had  not  dared  to 
kill  him,  for  the  son  of  their  old  emir  had  many  powerful  adher- 
ents in  the  clan,  and,  according  to  Kui'dish  law,  the  murder 
of  Suleiman  Bey  would  have  been  the  signal  for  his  own,  and 
the  commencement  of  a  blood-feud  in  the  tribes,  whose  end  none 
could  foresee  ;  for  their  lex  talionis  requires  the  descendants  of 
the  murdered,  however  remote,  to  retaliate  on  the  relations  of  the 
murderer,  till  the  equilibrium  is  restored  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned. 

The  hostility  between  the  Nestorians  and  the  Hakkary  Kiu'ds 
seems  to  date  back  as  far  as  the  establishment  of  Christianity 
and  Mohammedanism  side  by  side  in  the  mountains.  This  had 
been  aggravated  recently  by  the  present  Patriarch  grasping 
after  a  degree  of  power  said  to  have  been  unknown  to  his  pre- 
decessors ;  and,  as  he  possessed  no  little  diplomatic  tact  and 
energy,  the  jealousy  of  the  Kurds  towards  the  Nestorians  was 
full  as  great  as  it  ever  had  been.  The  late  emir  had  been  his 
personal  friend,  and  that  friendship  was  now  transferred  to  his 
son.  This,  of  course,  did  not  promote  any  kind  feelings  between 
him  and  the  usurper,     Suleiman  Bey  naturally  sided  with  Mar 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  105 

Shimon ;  and  this,  again,  increased  the  jealousy  of  the  emir 
against  both. 

This  unhappy  state  of  things  occasioned  the  burning  of  the 
Patriarch's  house,  at  Kochannes,  before  ever  Dr.  Grant  entered 
the  mountains,  and  continued  afterwards  to  produce  results  yet 
more  disastrous ;  for  the  emir,  with  all  this  difficulty  at  home, 
sought  to  strengthen  himself  by  alliance  abroad,  —  at  one  time 
with  Tarkey,  at  another  with  Persia,  but  most  of  all  with  Badir 
Khan  Bey,  chief  of  Buhtan,  generally  known  under  the  title  of 
the  Bey,  as  Suleiman  Bey  was  by  that  of  the  Mudebbir. 

Meanwhile,  the  Turks,  who  included  Kurdistan  within  the 
limits  of  their  empire,  w^ere  annoyed  by  the  existence  of  Nes- 
torians  and  Kurds,  ecpally  independent,  within  its  boundaries, 
and  they  were  determined  to  subdue  them. 

Mohammed  Pasha,  of  Mosul,  having  subdued  his  own  rebel- 
lious district,  and  also  the  Kurds  of  Bahdinan  and  Berwer,  now 
looked  with  longing  eyes  across  the  boundary  of  independent 
Kurdistan,  and  sought  to  add  that  also  to  his  extensive  pashalic. 

Badir  Khan  Bey,  a  friend  of  the  emir,  was  a  chigsf  in  the 
prime  of  life,  of  commanding  influence  among  the  tribes,  and 
full  of  ambitious  schemes,  aiming  at  nothing  less  than  entire 
independence  of  the  Sultan,  the  subjugation  of  the  Mountain 
Nestorians,  and  the  union  of  all  Kurdistan  under  his  single  sway. 

Such  was  the  troubled  sea,  vexed  by  opposing  storms,  on 
which  Dr.  Grant  was  about  to  launch,  in  the  name  of  Christ  and 
his  kingdom. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

JOURNEY    TO     MESOPOTAMIA    AND    ASSYRIA  —  SALMAS    DISAPPOIVlMENT  ^— 

CONSTANTINOPLE ERZRUM  DIARBEKR     AND      ANARCHY  —  MARDIN  

SICKNESS  MOBS,    AND     NARROW     ESCAPE MOSUL    Ui;rTERS YEZIDEE3 

MAR   MATTAI AKRA GEOGRAPHICAL    DISCOVERIES. 

Dr.  Grant  left  Oroomiah 'April  1,  1839,  proposing  to  join 
Mr.  Homes  at  Erzrura  ;  but,  on  reaching  Salmas,  he  learned 
that  the  mission  at  Constantinople  had  prevented  his  coming,  — 
supposing  the  death  of  Mrs.  Grant  would  break  up  the  enter- 
prise. Looking  on  this  as  one  of  many  indications  of  Prov- 
idence in  favor  of  entering  from  Persia,  he  wrote  to  Oroo- 
miah,  urging  the  unsettled  state  of  Mesopotamia  in  favor 
of  that  course,  —  an  argument  that  must  have  been  often  in  his 
mind  oil  that  sick  bed,  at  Mardiu,  and  afterwards.  He  sent, 
also,  a  letter  from  Yahya  Khan,  assuring  them  he  would  do 
everything  to  insure  the  success  he  did  not  doubt  would  crown 
the  attempt.  But  the  majority  did  not  favor  the  plan  ;  and  Dr. 
Grant  pressed  on  to  Constantinople,  though  an  unusually  late 
fall  of  snow  made  the  journey  not  a  little  perilous.  For  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  it  was  from  two  to  four  feet  deep.  On 
the  plain,  near  Ararat,  he  encountered  a  terrible  storm,  and 
almost  perished  in  the  mountains  beyond.  There  for  twenty 
miles  he  did  not  find  a  single  human  habitation.  He  himself 
had  to  take  the  place  of  his  guide,  who  was  blinded  by  the  snow, 
and,  where  the  path  was  not  swept  bare,  trust  to  the  recollec- 
tions of  his  journey  four  years  before.  In  descending  the 
mountain,  he  could  only  determine  when  he  was  out  of  the  path 
by  the  depth  to  which  he  sank  in  the  snow. 


DR.  GRANT  AND  THE  NESTOR  lANS.      107 

Near  the  sources  of  the  Euphrates  two  of  the  party  became 
blind  from  the  glare  of  the  snow ;  and  they  found  shelter  in  a 
stable,  at  MooUah  Suleiman,  —  such  as  Xenophon  described,  two 
thousand  years  before,  —  built  mostly  underground,  and,  at  a 
distance,  resembling  flattened  charcoal-pits.  The  next  stage  led 
over  the  pass  of  Dahar,  where  Messrs.  Smith  and  Dwight  suffered 
so  much,  and  himself,  also,  on  his  previous  passage.  Three  men 
had  perished  there  shortly  before  his  arrival.  But  rain  had 
set  in,  and  he  must  cross  before  the  snow  became  soft ;  for  then 
horses  would  sink  to  their  bodies  at  every  step.  He  did  so ;  but, 
on  the  mountain,  the  rain  clianged  to  snow :  the  wind  soon  blew 
a  gale,  and  the  snow  was  so  deep  the  horses  could  not  advance. 
To  crown  all,  the  guide  lost  the  path,  and  declared  it  impossible 
to  go  on.  Turning  back  was  equally  out  of  the  question,  as 
their  tracks  were  obliterated  by  the  wind,  that  would  then  be  in 
their  faces.  In  such  a  situation,  benumbed  and  weak  as  he  was, 
the  courage  of  Dr.  Grant  did  not  fail.  He  could  not  tell  how 
they  would  be  delivered,  but  he  had  a  sweet  assurance  that 
deliverance  would  come ;  and,  like  Paul  in  the  ship,  he  encour- 
aged his  companions  to  new  effort.  God  did  not  put  to  shame 
the  confidence  of  his  servant ;  for,  just  then,  as  unlooked-for  as 
angels  from  heaven,  four  mountaineers  came  tramping  over  the 
snow  before  them ;  and,  one  of  them  consenting  to  turn  back, 
they  passed  in  safety  on  foot,  —  the  men  breaking  down  the 
drifts  for  the  horses  that  followed  after,  and  exploring  the  path 
by  thrusting  their  long  staves  deep  into  the  snow. 

The  next  day,  fording  some  tributaries  of  the  Aras  must  have 
recalled  his  Braintrim  experience,  as  his  horse  was  carried  away 
in  one  of  them,  and  with  difficulty  regained  the  shore.  He 
reached  Erzrum  April  17.  and  rested  a  day  with  his  kind  friend 
Dr.  Riach,  then  in  that  place.  It  was  well  for  him  that  he 
hastened  as  he  did,  since  the  road  continued  impassable  for 
weeks.  His  health  improved  amid  all  these  hardships.  He 
vomited  but  little  west  of  Salmas,  and  was  troubled  with  fever 


108  DR.     GRANT     AND    THE 

only  for  two  or  three  daj'S  after  leaving  that  place.  On  thv 
ISth  he  left  Erzrum  for  Constantinople,  "vrithout  any  attendant 
except  the  surijee  (hostler)  from  the  post-house.  Next  day  he 
found  the  bridge  over  the  west  branch  of  the  Euphrates  had 
fallen  in  the  night,  and  he  got  across  only  after  the  villagers  of 
Ashkala  had  wrought  for  an  hour  in  the  cold  water,  up  to  the 
waist.  He  rode  twenty  hours  that  day,  and  his  horse  fell  with 
him  twice,  the  day  after,  in  the  snow  and  mud.  Arriving  at 
Trebizond  the  22d,  he  sailed,  three  days  after,  in  the  steamer, 
for  Constantinople.  Here  new  difficulties  awaited  him.  Owing 
to  the  persecution  then  raging,  and  the  absence  of  Mi;;.  Dwight 
in  America,  3Ir.  Homes  could  not  then  be  spared;  and,  as  it 
was  altogether  uncertain  when  he  could  leave,  Dr.  Grant  pro- 
posed to  go  on  alone  to  Diarbekr,  and  wait  there  a  reasonable 
time  and  then,  if  Mr.  Homes  did  not  appear,  to  do  what  he 
could  without  him.  To  this  they  all  agreed ;  and  he  returned 
immediately  to  Erzrum.  Here  he  waited  nine  days  for  his 
Srman  from  Constantinople,  spending  the  time  pleasantly  and 
profitably  with  Dr.  Riach,  Col.  Shell  and  consul  Brant.  The 
last  two,  having  travelled  extensively  in  Kurdistan,  gave  him 
much  valuable  information ;  and  he  had  free  access  to  their 
libraries,  which  were  well  supplied  with  whatever  related  to 
the  history  of  that  region.  While  here  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Merrick, 
May  18  : 

"  I  expect  to  leave  here  on  the  20th,  or  soon  after,  for  Diar- 
bekr ;  but  whether  m}'  health  will  allow  me  to  stay  there  long, 
or  whether  political  disturbances  may  affect  my  movements,  I 
know  not.  From  this  distance  the  horizon  looks  dark  and  low- 
erino-.  Hafiz  Pasha  is  recruiting  his  army,  and  it  is  said  the 
Pasha  of  Bagdad  has  been  ordered  to  join  him. 

"  I  trust  you  are  now  quietly  seated  down  in  —  shall  I  say 
my  own  quiet  home  ?  0,  no  I  Once  and  again  have  I  had  a 
peaceful,  happy  ho7ne,  with  all  that  could  render  it  delightful. 
Have  I,  then,  a  home  no  more  ?     Yes;  where  the  dearest  objects 


'..  ';.'  '  ^■> 


>    '   '      '         '    J  >  '      5  » 


:^#b^ 


.'i 


\  M 


■"4 


''^^' 


"III   I 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  II I  A  N  S  .  Ill 

of  my  aiFections  are,  there  is  my  home.  With  Him  who  is  the 
theme  of  their  joyful  anthems,  with  Him  who  said  I  go  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you  in  my  Father's  house,  —  there  is  my  home. 
"What  matter,  then,  if  for  a  time  I  wander  a  lonely  pilgrim  in  a 
strange  land,  when,  at  best,  I  must  be  absent  from  my  home 
while  in  this  vale  of  tears  ?  Let  me  lay  up  treasures  in  my 
home  on  high.  Let  me  but  find  some  precious  gem  to  grace  my 
Sovereign's  crown,  and  gladly  will  I  toil  on  amid  trials  to  the  end." 

On  the  way  to  Diarbekr  he  crossed  some  of  the  mountain- 
torrents  on  solid  bridges  of  snow,  and  was  ferried  over  the 
Euphrates,  at  Paloo,  on  a  raft  supported  by  inflated  goat-skins. 
Arriving  at  Diarbekr  on  the  30th,  nine  days  from  Erzrum,  he 
found  the  city  awaiting  in  suspense  news  from  the  battle  of 
Nizib.  The  defeat  of  the  Turks  was  soon  manifest  in  the  arrival 
of  hundreds  of  fugitives,  completely  stripped  by  the  Kurds. 
From  that  moment  anarchy  reigned.  Robbery  and  murder 
were  the  order  of  the  day.  None  dared  leave  the  city  without 
a  guard,  and  even  in  the  streets  the  arm  of  the  strongest  was  the 
only  law.  Though  the  pasha  hung  up  five  heads,  and  four  times 
as  many  ears,  of  malefactors,  in  the  bazaars,  yet,  two  days  after, 
these  very  bxizaars  witnessed  the  most  daring  robberies.  The 
people  ascribed  their  defeat  to  Frapk  innovations  in  military 
tactics;  and  when  Mr.  Homes  arrived,  on  July  3,  he  and 
Dr.  Grant  not  only  heard  themselves  cursed  in  the  streets,  but 
the  peopje  openly  declared  their  purpose  of  killing  every  Euro- 
pean in  the  place. 

Finding  Diarbekr  becoming  so  unsafe,  both  from  anarchy  and 
the  unhealthy  climate,  —  the  thermometer  being  already  98°  in 
the  shade,  —  they  left  for  Mardin  on  the  10th  of  July,  with  an 
escort  of  thirty  horsemen,  part  sent  by  the  pasha,  and  part 
returning  to  that  place.  They  had  intended  to  prosecute  in- 
quiries among  the  Syrian  Christians  of  that  vicinity;  but  not 
even  here  did  they  find  rest  for  the  soles  of  their  feet.  Their 
lives  were  openly  threatened  only  a  few  days  after  their  arrival, 


112  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

» 

SO  that  the  governor  oflFered  them  a  guard.  This  they  declined, 
not  thinking  it  best  to  manifest  any  alarm ;  and  soon  all  excite- 
ment died  away,  and  they  visited  the  pasha  and  others  of  the 
nobility  in  quiet. 

Aiid  now  fresh  trouble  came,  in  the  form  of  a  severe  attack 
of  inflammation  of  the  bowels.  This  caused  much  suflering,  and 
for  a  while  held  him  suspended  over  the  grave.  In  the  near 
prospect  of  death,  next  to  his  concern  for  his  absent  children,  his 
greatest  grief  was  that  he  had  come  so  far  to  do  so  little,  instead 
of  entering  the  mountains  at  once,  from  Persia.  The  prospect 
before  him  was  far  from  encourao;ino;.  There  were  no  Nesto- 
rians  remaining  in  Mosul,  —  all  had  gone  over  to  the  Pope; 
and  it  was  doubtful,  if  he  went  there,  whether  he  could  remain 
in  safety,  or  proceed  either  east  or  south.  Bagdad  was  in  com- 
motion ;  so  was  Sulimanieh ;  and  Turkish  authority  was  very 
weak  in  the  whole  region.  At  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  Provi- 
dence, hedging  up  their  way  in  every  other  direction,  would  lead 
them  to  Aleppo,  to  wait  for  a  more  favorable  time ;  and,  ever 
ready  to  follow  the  leadings  of  Providence,  however  they  opposed 
his  own  plans,  he  concluded  to  go  there,  "  unless  other  indica- 
tions should  arise."  Carefully  to  observe  the  intimations  of  the 
divine  will,  and  implicitly  to  follow  them,  were  principles  that 
governed  the  whole  conduct  of  Dr.  Grant.  His  child-like  reli- 
ance on  Providence  is  beautifully  illustrated  by  an  incident  that 
occurred  during  this  journey.     "  Suppose  that,  when  you  reach 

,"  said  a  friend,  "  you  find  you  cannot  stay  there,  what 

vv'ill  you  do  ?  "  —  "I  will  go  to ."  —  "  And  suppose  that 

then  your  way  is  hedged  up  ?  "  I  will  do  so  and  so,  was  the 
reply.  At  length,  thinking  he  had  certainly  brought  him 
to  a  stand,  his  friend  asked,  "And  what  then?"  —  "I  do 
not  now  know,"  said  Dr.  Grant ;  "  but,  when  God  brings  me 
there,  he  will  point  out  the  way  in  time  enough  for  me  to  walk 
in  it."  This  spirit  of  reliance  on  God  furnishes  a  key  to  much 
in  his  subsequent  course  that  were  otherwise  inexplicable ;  for, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  113 

being  assured  that  the  mountains  formed  a  part  of  "all  the 
world  "  into  which  the  disciples  were  to  go  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel, and  that  the  existing  exigences  of  the  mission  rendered  it 
exceedingly  desirable  that  it  should  be  done  immediately,  he 
took  it  for  granted  that  God  would  take  care  of  the  man  who 
should  endeavor  to  do  it,  and  afford  him  all  necessary  guidance, 
just  so  fast  and  so  far  as  it  was  required.  He  did  not  need  to 
wait  long,  on  the  present  occasion.  That  God  who  had  proved 
the  faith  of  his  servant  so  often,  subjects  it  to  only  one  trial 
more  before  he  gives  him  the  desire  of  his  heart. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  while  Dr.  Grant  was  riding  out  with 
Mr.  Homes,  the  mob  killed  the  governor,  in  his  palace,  in  open 
day ;  and,  after  putting  several  leading  men  to  death,  sought 
the  lodging  of  the  missionaries,  with  their  bloody  weapons.  But 
God  had  led  them  out ;  and,  when  they  returned,  made  the  gates 
to  shut  out  those  whom  man  thus  meant  to  shut  in  for  slaughter. 

They  retired  to  Deir  Zafran,  the  convent  of  the  Jacobite 
Patriarch,  about  four  miles  distant,  where  they  were  kindly 
sheltered  till  the  storm  subsided.  Some  of  the  ringleaders, 
finding  they  were  not  in  the  city,  pursued  them  to  the  village 
they  had  been  visiting,  and  would  have  followed  them  to  the 
convent,  had  not  a  division  among  themselves  compelled  them  to 
turn  back  from  their  bloody  errand. 

Dr.  Grant  and  Mr.  Homes  had  now  spent  two  months  in 
Mardin.  They  had  found  that  no  Nestorians  remained  west  of 
the  Kurdish  mountains;  and,  finding  so  little  hope  of  usefulness, 
with  so  much  peril,  Mr.  Homes,  in  accordance  with  the  ad- 
vice of  brethren  at  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  resolved  to 
return.  Dr.  Grant,  with  a  full  view  of  the  trials  before  him  in 
his  solitary  journey,  could  not  withhold  his  consent.  In  review 
ing  those  days  of  trial,  he  says :  "  They  had  been  days  of 
mingled  anxiety  and  pleasure,  not  to  be  forgotten  while  memory 
remains.  I  had  just  risen  from  a  sick  bed,  on  which  the  tide 
of  life  seemed  fast  ebbing  to  a  close,  when  the  insurrection 
10 


114  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

occurred;  and  the  divine  interposition  cf  that  day  tended  not  a 
little  to  strengthen  my  foith,  and  arm  me  for  whatever  perils 
might  still  await  me. 

"  Within  the  ruined  walls  of  an  ancient  church,  which  stands 
in  a  lonely  ravine,  overlooked  by  the  town,  I  exchanged  the  part- 
ino-  embrace  with  my  brother  and  companion  in  tribulation.  On 
account  of  the  anarchy  around  us,  we  had  travelled  together 
barely  two  days  ;  but,  on  a  bed  of  sickness  and  surrounded  by 
men  of  blood,  I  had  learned  to  prize  the  company  of  a  Christian 
friend,  and  it  was  not  without  a  struggle  each  tore  himself  away 
from  the  other.  But  while  Providence  called  him  back  to  Con- 
stantinople, to  me  it  seemed  to  cry  '  Onward  to  the  mountains ! '  " 
Dr.  Grant  may  be  deemed  an  enthusiast.  But,  with  less  in- 
terest for  the  salvation  of  men,  he  had  turned  back  from  the 
snows  of  Armenia,  or  fled  before  the  surges  of  anarchy  as  they 
broke  over  Mount  Masius,  or  grown  timid  in  the  languor  of  dis- 
ease, or  shrunk  from  the  possible  repetition  of  his  recent  perils 
when  friendless  and  alone.  But  he  looked  at  the  deliverance 
rather  than  at  the  danger.  In  his  own  words,  "  That  diviiie 
interposition  armed  him  for  future  perils."  The  great  object 
before  him  justified  his  pressing  forward  ;  for  well  he  knew  that, 
while  none  dared  advise  him  to  proceed,  lest  he  should  fall,  yet 
every  friend  of  the  mission  was  most  anxious  that  he  should 
enter  the  mountains.  Moreover,  it  was  just  as  dangerous  to  go 
backward  as  forward;  and  he  resolved  to  go  to  Mosul,  intending, 
in  case  he  could  not  enter  from  thence,  to  return  by  a  more 
southern  route  to  Persia. 

Disguised  in  an  oriental  dress,  he  returned  to  Mardin,  to  pre- 
pare for  the  journey ;  and  so  changed  was  his  appearance 
that  he  remained  two  days  unrecognized  and  undisturbed. 
While  there,  the  cannon  of  the  citadel  proclaimed  the  subjection 
of  the  town  to  the  strong  arm  of  the  Pasha  of  Mosul.  This 
rendered  his  journey  thither  safe,  and,  as  though  providence 
would  further  approve  of  his  purpose,   he    was   favored  with 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  115 

the  agreeable  society  of  Captain  Conolly,  who,  through  many 
dangers,  had  come  thus  far  on  his  way  to  India  with  despatches. 
It  was  his  sad  fate,  on  the  banks  of  the  Oxus,  that  afterwards 
occasioned  the  journey  of  the  eccentric  Dr.  Wolff  to  Bokhara. 

These  two  men  were  kindred  spirits,  and  must  have  enjoyed 
the  society  of  each  other  in  their  journey  through  the  home 
of  the  ancient  patriarchs.  They  encountered  some  Kurds,  who 
had  intended  to  rob  them,  but  slunk  away  from  the  fearless 
travellers,  backed  by  a  few  Arabs  from  their  last  night's  encamp- 
ment. Dr.  Grant  says  of  this  part  of  his  journey,  "The 
sketches  of  Sarah,  Rebecca  and  Rachel,  as  portrayed  by  Moses, 
were  reproduced  in  the  shepherdess  watering  her  father's 
flocks  at  the  wells,  or  at  the  close  of  day  carrying  her  pitcher  to 
the  distant  fountains.  We  seemed  to  be  carried  back  four 
thousand  years,  to  commune  with  Abraham,  living  in  just  such 
tents,  and  moving  from  place  to  place  like  the  present  Arabs 
of  Mesopotamia."  A  journey  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles 
brought  them  in  safety  to  Mosul,  on  the  20th  of  Sept.,  1839. 

This  is  a  walled  city,  with  eight  gates,  situated  on  an  emi- 
nence on  the  western  bank  of  the  Tigris.  As  this  was  one  of 
the  rivers  that  watered  Paradise,  it  deserves  a  passing  notice. 
It  has  two  sources,  in  southern  Anti  Taurus.  One  about  twenty 
miles  west  of  Arghana  Maaden,  and  ten  south  of  Goljik  lake ; 
the  other  in  Ali  Dagh  (Mount  Niphates),  near  Paloo,  where 
Dr.  Grant  crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Myafarekin.  About  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  from 
its  western  source  it  receives  the  Bitlis  Soo  (second  Nicephorius 
of  Xenophon),  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  some  fifty  yards 
wide,  just  above  its  mouth.  The  Tigris  there  is  three  times  as 
wide,  and  more  than  twice  as  deep.  Soon  after  this,  it  receives 
the  Buhtan  Chai  (Centrites  of  Xenophon),  and  flows  on  without 
further  addition,  till  the  united  waters  of  the  Hazil  and  Habor 
empty  into  it  below  Jezira.  This  is  the  last  it  receives  north  of 
Mosul,  where,  at  the  bridge,  the  narrowest  part,  it  is  three  hun- 


116  DR.     GRANT    AND     THE 

dred  and  five  feet  broad,  and  '  juhl:  below   it   fi%   feet  deep. 
Other   places  are  wider  and  shallower.     The  average  breadth 
between  Mosul  and  Bagdad  is  two  hundred  yards.     The  whole 
length  of  the  river,  to  its  junction  with  the  Euphrates,  is  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-six  miles.     Its  mean  velocity  at 
Bagdad  is  7.33  feet  per  second,  while  that  of  the  Euphrates  at 
Hit  is  only  4.46,   and  the  Nile,   at  Cairo,  1.11.     The  Tigris 
varies  greatly  in  size  at  different  seasons.     It  is  lowest  in  Octo- 
ber and  the  beginning  of  November,  after  the  long  drought  of 
summer.     After  the  middle  of  November  it  rises  a  little,  then 
decreases  and  swells  irregularly,  till  its  tributaries  are  frozen  up 
in  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan.     The  great  rise  begins  about  the 
middle  of  March,  and  increases  with  the  melting  of  the  distant 
enows,  till  it  attains  its  height,  between  the  middle  and  the  end 
of  May  ;  and  then  again  decreases  gradually  till  October.     It  is 
navigated,  as   in  the   days  of  Herodotus,  with  rafte  supported 
by  inflated  goat-skins.     Small  ones,  about  eighteen  feet  by  six- 
teen, and  supported  by  some  thirty-two  skins,  come  down  from 
Diarbekr  to  Mosul,  a   distance  of  two  hundred   and  ninety-six 
miles.     From  Mosul  to  Bagdad  larger  ones  are  used,  sometimes 
supported  by  as  many  as  three  hundred  skins.     This  voyage 
occupies  three  or  four  days  in  high  water,  and  sometimes  as 
many  as  fifteen,  when  it  is  low.    The  rafts  are  taken  to  pieces  at 
Bagdad,  the  timber  sold,  and  the  skins  carried  back  again,  to  be 
used  in  the  construction  of  new  rafts. "^ 

Dr.  Grant  found  all  quiet  in  Mosul,  under  the  efficient  rule 
of  Mohammed  Pasha.  Little  did  he  think  that  the  house  in 
which  he  then  lodged  was  but  a  few  feet  distant  from  his  grave. 
But  so  it  proved ;  for  it  was  next  door  to  the  church  of  Mar 
Tooma,  where  his  body  now  lies  awaiting  the  morn  of  the  resur- 
rection.    AVhile  here  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins, 

*  See  Col.  Chesney's  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  where,  vol.  i.  39,  he 
gives  7.33  feet  per  second  as  the  highest,  and  again,  page  62,  as  the 
mean  velocity  of  the  current  of  the  Tigris. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  117 

sympathizing  with  them  in  the  loss  of  their  favorite  Justin. 
"  You  and  I,"  says  he,  "  are  called  to  drink  often  of  the  cup  of 
affliction.  Would  that  I  could  have  been  with  you  ;  but,  though 
you  had  no  earthly  physician,  there  was  one  present  to  whom  he 
was  dearer  than  even  to  you.  Well  may  you  say,  with  David, 
'  I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to  me.'  Yes,  soon 
shall  we  meet  the  loved  ones  who  sleep  in  Jesus,  never,  never 
more  to  part.  If  our  home  is  above,  let  us  rejoice  that  a  part 
of  our  little  family  has  gone  to  our  '  Father's  house  '  before  us. 
But,  though  we  would  not  murmur,  yet  agony  sometimes  so  over- 
whelms, for  the  moment,  that  y^e  feel  as  if  it  must  not  be  so.  But 
God  is  your  comforter,  and  to  Him  I  commend  you. 

"  Since  I  left  you,  I  have  more  than  once  feared  I  should 
never  rejoin  your  peaceful  circle,  and  even  now  the  prospect 
looks  uncertain.  But  I  love  to  think  the  Lord  is  your  keeper, 
and  in  Him  only  would  1  trust ;  to  Him  alone  would  I  look  for 
guidance,  neither  shrinking  from  trial  or  rushing  into  danger 
uncalled.  To  preserve  his  life  for  his  great  work  is  the  most 
solemn  duty  of  the  missionary.  But  I  also  believe  that  a  readi- 
ness to  face  danger,  and  even  death,  is  implied  in  the  command 
to  take  up  the  cross,  and  fear  not  them  who  can  kill  the  body. 
Paul  counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself.  Christ  sent  forth 
his  disciples  as  sheep  among  wolves,  and  told  them  that  the 
time  would  come  when  whosoever  killed  them  would  think  he 
did  God  service ;  as  the  Moslems  at  Mardin,  when  they  had 
killed  a  Christian  in  his  bed,  a  few  days  before  we  fled,  boasted 
that  it  was  a  work  of  merit,  for  which  God  would  reward  them. 
Perhaps  by  our  perils  there,  God  would  teach  us  that  he  who 
seeketh  to  save  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  for  it  was  to  avoid  what 
were  deemed  greater  perils  that  that  route  was  recommended. 
I  hope  to  leave  for  Amadia  in  a  ?QVf  days,  and  what  course  I 
shall  pursue  then  will  depend  on  the  indications  of  Providence 
at  the  time." 

The  day  before  he  left  Mosul  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Merrick. 
10=^ 


118  I)  R  .    GRANT     A  ^  D     THE 

After  describing  his  perplexities  in  view  of  tlie  difficulties  before 
him,  and  the  advice  of  some  to  abandon  the  enterprise,  he 
proceeds  : 

"  Why,  then,  ami  still  prosecuting  further  plans  and  labors  in 
this  region,  while  my  path  cannot  be  free  from  danger,  and  so 
many  of  my  brethren  have  advised  me  to  leave  the  field  ?  I 
look  upon  the  objects  I  hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  accom- 
plish, as  of  very  great  importance,  not  only  to  all  missionary 
labors  in  these  parts,  but  to  our  own  mission,  to  the  whole  body 
of  the  Nestorians,  and  also  to  my  own  fiiirest  hopes  of  future 
usefulness.  I  cannot  leave  the  field  till  I  have  reasons  which 
I  can  plead  at  the  judgment-seat,  where  I  expect  soon  to  stand. 

"  Whether  I  shall  penetrate  further  into  the  mountains  I  cannot 
decide  now,  but  shall  be  guided  by  future  indications.  I  feel 
reluctant  to  enter  upon  so  important  an  undertaking  entirely 
unsupported  by  the  Board  or  my  missionary  brethren,  and  I 
am  aware  that  many  will  accuse  me  of  madness  for  doing  it. 
But  it  is  a  small  thing  to  be  judged  of  man's  judgment.  My 
-motives,  my  feelings,  my  desires,  my  hopes,  are  all  open  to  the 
eye  of  God.  To  Him  I  commit  my  case,  myself,  my  all.  By 
His  judgment  I  stand  or  fall.  If  I  am  successful,  to  Hi?)i  be  all 
the  glory.  If  I  fail,  I  fail  in  a  good  cause,  and,  through  the 
grace  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  it  may  be  set  to  my 
account  that  it  ivas  in  my  heart  to  succeed,  that  God  might  be 
glorified.  In  myself  lam  weak,  —  I  am  nothing;  but  I.  feel 
strong  in  the  Lord,  in  whom  is  everlasting  strength;  not  a  hair 
of  my  head  will  be  touched  without  his  permission.  So  long  as 
he  requires  my  poor  services  here,  he  will  take  care  of  me.  For 
him  would  I  live,  and  for  him  would  I  die.  Then  I  can  say, 
for  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain."' 

On  the  morning  of  Oct.  7  Dr.  Grant  left  Mosul  for  the  unex- 
plored regions  of  Kurdistan,  accompanied  by  two  Nestorians 
from  Persia,  a  Kiirdish  muleteer  and  a  kavass  (police-officer), 
IVora  ^he  Pasha.     Leaving  the  gate,  he  passed  at  once  on  to  the 


Y  KZIDEES. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  liil 

bridge  of  twenty-one  boats  that  here  spans  the  Tigris,  crowded 
with  men  and  animals  in  picturesque  confusion.  This  passed, 
he  stood  amid  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  novr  waste  and  desolate. 
Black  Arab  tents  occupied  the  place  of  her  palaces,  and  some 
of  their  women  were  weaving  sackcloth,  as  if  for  the  mourning 
attire  of  her  "  whose  merchants  were  multiplied  above  the  stars 
of  heaven."  On  one  of  the  ancient  mounds  stands  the  modern 
village  of  Nebby  Yunas  (the  Prophet  Jonah),  and  under  the 
mosque  they  pretend  to  show  his  tomb. 

Four  hours'  ride  brings  him  to  Baasheka,  a  large  village  of 
the  Yezidees.  Extensive  olive-groves  impart  a  cheerful  aspect  to 
the  scene,  and  several  tombs  of  their  Sheikhs  attract  his  attention 
as  he  approaches.  These  are  cubical  structures,  surmounted  by 
fluted  cones,  tliat  rise  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet.  They 
are  built  of  stone  and  lime,  plastered  on  the  outside,  and  present 
a  neat  appearance  among  the  rough,  flat-roofed  houses  of  the 
village.  His  welcome  into  one  of  the  latter  was  not  the  most 
cordial ;  but  the  cavass  at  once  understood  the  trouble,  and  re- 
moved it.  Dr.  Grant  had  been  mistaken  for  a  Moslem,  and  as 
soon  as  the  host  was  enlightened  on  that  matter  he  welcomed 
him  with  alacrity  ;  for  Yezidees  like  Christians  much  better  than 
they  do  their  Mohammedan  neighbors. 

They  believe  in  one  God,  and  teach  that  Satan  substituted  a 
Jew  for  our  Saviour  on  the  cross,  so  that  Christ  ascended  into 
heaven  without  having  died,  and  will  appear  again  from  thence 
to  subdue  all  men  to  himself.  They  baptize  both  by  immersion 
and  sprinkling,  use  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and,  putting  off  their 
shoes,  kiss  the  threshold  of  a  Christian  church  before  they 
enter,  but  never  visit  a  mosque.  Moreover,  they  practise  cir- 
cumcision ;  but,  along  with  all  this,  they  have  also  a  leaven  of 
Sabianism.  They  adore  the  rising  sun,  and  kiss  the  object  first 
touched  by  his  early  rays.  They  will  not  blow  out  a  candle,  or 
spit  in  the  fire,  lest  they  defile  that  sacred  element.  They  will 
not  speak  disrespectfully   of  Satan,  alleging  that,  though  now 


122  DR.     G  K  A  N  T     AND     T  H  E 

fallen,  he  will  one  day  be  restored  to  lavor,  wnen  it  might  be 
inconvenient  to  be  found  among  his  enemies.  Instead  of  pro- 
nouncing his  name,  they  call  him  Lord  of  the  Evening,  or  Sheikh 
Maazem  (exalted  chief) ;  nor  will  they  tolerate  the  mention  of 
the  word  Shat,  the  usual  name  of  the  Tigris,  because  of  its  re- 
semblance to  Sheitan  (Satan) ;  even  the  word  naal  (a  horse-shoe) 
is  also  proscribed,  because  it  is  only  a  transposition  of  laan  (to 
curse),  as  though  Satan  were  either  accursed  or  cursing.  It 
is  said  they  used  to  make  offerings  to  him  by  throwing  money 
and  jewels  into  a  deep  pit  in  the  mountains  of  Sinjar,  which  the 
Turks  plundered  of  the  offerings  of  centuries  when  that  district 
was  conquered.  Here  the  Yezidees  call  themselves  Daseni, 
from  the  ancient  name  of  t\ie  province,  Dasen.  It  was  a  Nes- 
torian  bishopric  in  early  times.  Their  great  temple  at  Sheikh 
Adi,  where  they  come  together  to  their  annual  festivals,  is  said 
to  have  been  once  a  Christian  convent.  Mr.  Rich  calls  them 
brave,  hospitable  and  good-humored,  and  says  that  under  the 
British  government  much  might  be  made  of  them.  Dr.  Grant 
asks,  "  Can  nothing  be  made  of  them  under  the  gospel  ?  "  and 
adds,  "  That  will  be  a  joyful  day  when  prayer  and  praise  to 
God  shall  ascend  from  hearts  now  devoted  to  the  prince  of 
darkness." 

Two  hours'  ride  to  the  north-east  brought  him  in  sight  of 
the  ruined  convent  of  Mar  Mattai  (St.  Matthew),  founded  334 
A.  D.,  in  the  days  of  Sapor,  and  containing  the  tomb  of  the  cele- 
brated Abulfaraj,  whom  even  Gibbon  styles  "  eminent,  both  in  his 
life  and  death.  In  his  life,  as  an  elegant  writer  of  both  Syriac  and 
Arabic,  a  poet,  physician  and  historian,  a  subtle  philosopher  and 
a  moderate  divine ;  in  his  death,  as  his  funeral  was  attended  by 
his  rival,  the  Nestorian  Patriarch,  with  a  train  of  Greeks  and 
Armenians,  who  forgot  their  disputes,  and  mingled  their  tears 
over  the  grave  of  an  enemy."  It  stands  high  up  on  the  south- 
western acclivity  of  Jebel  Maklub.  For  some  time  before 
reachiny;  the  foot   of  the  mountain,  one  wonders  how  he  is  to 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR  lANS.  123 

climb  the  rock  before  him.  It  rises  with  so  steep  and  uniform 
a  slope  as  seems,  at  least,  to  forbid  all  approach  on  horseback 
The  hollows  in  the  side  of  the  mountain  look  as  if  a  huge  knife 
had  been  inserted  at  the  top  and  drawn  downwards,  the  incision 
deepening  and  spreading  as  it  went.  The  convent  is  perched 
upon  a  narrov^  ridge,  between  two  of  these,  about  half  way  up, 
and  at  a  distance  seems  inaccessible;  but,  once  under  it,  all 
is  explained,  —  a  zig-zag  path,  partly  cut  in  the  rock,  partly 
built  against  the  sloping  sides,  leads  up  to  the  very  door.  The 
steepness  of  the  ascent  may  appear  from  the  fact  that  lumps  of 
stone  and  mortar,  from  the  ruined  walls,  have  rolled  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  though  a  horse  descending  rapidly  needs 
some  twenty  minutes  to  follow  down  the  road.  The  buildings 
are  large  and  irregular,  comprising  two  churches  and  several 
edifices,  with  courts,  besides  many  cells  cut  in  the  living  rock. 
When  Dr.  Grant  was  there  they  were  deserted,  owing  to  the 
ravages  of  the  Ravendooz  Kurds,  who  plundered  the  convent 
and  killed  several  of  the  monks,  seven  years  before.  They  have 
since  been  repaired,  and  occupied  by  a  bishop  and  monks ;  but 
how  changed  from  the  populous  structure  of  former  days,  that 
justified  the  boastful  inscription  on  its  walls  of  "  Dairo  Ale- 
phoyo  "  !  (monastery  of  thousands). 

In  the  hollow  beyond  the  convent  is  a  cave  at  the  very  apex 
of  the  valley.  A  semicircular  wall  of  rock,  rising  high  above  it 
and  sweeping  far  round  on  either  side,  leaves  hardly  room  for 
the  path  that  leads  up  to  it;  but,  once  there,  you  are  abun- 
dantly rewarded  for  all  your  toil.  Behind  you  is  an  inner  cham- 
ber, in  which  the  Avater  falls,  drop  by  drop,  into  a  crystalline 
pool  below,  and  passes  noiselessly  into  a  basin  at  your  side,  so 
clear  that  the  rays  of  the  sun  do  not  reveal  a  single  mote  in  its 
pellucid  depths.  Lying  there  in  the  cool  shade  of  the  rock,  and 
looking  out  under  the  large  trees  directly  before  the  cave,  your 
eye  overlooks  the  lower  ridge,  between  you  and  Baasheka,  and 
ranges  over  the  vast  plain  of  Assyria,  across  the  Tigris,  and  far 


124  DR.     OR  ANT     AND     THE 

into  Mesopotamia.  You  gaze  on  a  scene  at  once  classical 
and  sacred.  There  Nimrod,  Sardanapalus,  and  Sennacherib, 
lived  and  reigned.  Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand  men  once 
crossed  that  plain  ;  and  so  did  Alexander.  Romans  and  Sara- 
cens in  turn  have  marched  their  armies  there.  Over  the  Tigris, 
at  Mosul,  Tamerlane  built  a  bridge,  across  which  his  hordes 
passed  continuously  for  seven  days.  And  yet  this  place,  so 
lovely  in  itself,  and  so  suggestive  of  great  thoughts,  is  the  sum- 
mer resort  of  the  Jacobites  of  Mosul,  to  drink  and  carouse. 
Their  bottles  of  arrack  lie  in  the  crystal  pool,  and  these  rocky 
walls  reecho  their  bacchanalian  revelry. 

While  Dr.  Grant  visited  these  places  his  attendants  had  gone 
on,  and  he  overtook  them,  just  at  dusk,  in  the  Yezidee  village 
of  Mohammed  Eavshan.  Here  his  accommodations  were  so 
wretched  that,  to  avoid  the  vermin  in  the  houses,  he  spread  his 
carpet  out  of  doors  ;  and,  after  a  social  chat  over  some  yogboort 
(sour  milk)  and  herbs  boiled  together,  —  all  that  the  village 
could  afford,  —  he  lay  down  to  sleep  in  the  open  air.  Fortu- 
nately a  shower  of  rain  disturbed  him  in  time  to  recover  his 
horse  just  as  robbers  were  leading  him  away. 

Next  morning  he  mounted  at  dawn,  and  entered  a  broad,  level 
plain,  watered  by  the  Hazir  and  its  tributaries.  This  is  the 
Bumadus,  on  whose  banks  was  fought  the  famous  battle  between 
Alexander  and  Darius.  ^ 

He  found  the  Nestorians  reduced  to  a  few  villages  in  the 
northern  part  of  this  district,  and  the  fertile  plain  desolated  by 
war  four  times  within  six  years,  —  twice  by  the  Kiirds,  and  then 
by  the  Turkish  Pashas  of  Mosul  and  Bagdad,  —  till  the  miser- 
able inhabitants  had  scarce  a  morsel  to  eat  or  a  house  to  shelter 

*  The  names  of  the  Hazir  and  Gomel  are  accidentally  transposed  on  Dr. 
Grant's  former  map;  and  the  name  of  Beth  Garmte  (house  of  bones) ,  which 
he  applies  to  this  region,  belongs  to  a  district  further  south,  about  Kerkuk 
Kifri  and  Suleimanieh,  below  the  lower  Zab.  Assemani  (iv.  747)  says  it 
is  south  of  Adiabene  and  Erbil,  and  north  of  Sittacene  and  Apolloniatis. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  125 

them.  Instead  of  furnishing  Dr.  Grant  with  food,  they  begged 
it  from  him,  as,  four  years  after,  ihej  did  from  the  writer  of 
these  pages. 

In  the  afternoon,  as  he  approached  Akra,  the  scene  was 
changed.  For  a  mile  the  road  was  shaded  by  a  continuous  can- 
opy of  foliage.  The  golden  pomegranate  blended  with  the  rich 
green  of  the  olive  ;  the  luscious  fig  alternated  with  the  peach  and 
the  apricot.  The  plum  and  cherry  tree,  too,  w^ere  there  ;  and, 
under  all,  the  modest  blackberry  held  out  its  fruit  within  his 
reach  on  the  saddle.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  seen  it  since 
leaving  home,  and  he  welcomed  it  as  a  friend  of  his  early  days. 
The  luxuriant  fertility  of  the  plain  is  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  bare  crags  of  the  mountains,  that  rise  abruptly  behind  the 
town.  A  castle,  perched  on  the  nearest  cliff",  had  just  been 
demolished  by  the  Turks,  and  its  chief  carried  prisoner  to  Bag- 
dad. Another  of  the  same  family  had  been  set  over  the  province 
of  Amadia ;  and  it  was  to  secure  his  protection  through  the 
district  that  Dr.  Grant  had  taken  this  route,  —  longer,  by  two 
days,  than  that  through  Elkosh. 

He  welcomed  the  lonely  missionary  with  Persian  politeness, 
rose  from  his  carpet  as  he  entered  his  tent  among  the  gardens, 
and  seated  him  at  his  side,  saying  he  regarded  his  visit  as  a 
favor  from  God.  This  was  all  explained,  as,  hardly  waiting  for 
a  reply,  he  held  out  his  hand  for  the  doctor  to  feel  his  pulse. 
After  prescribing  for  him,  they  conversed  freely  in  both  Turk- 
ish and  Persian,  his  guest  adroitly  turning  the  conversation  to 
the  charms  of  the  surrounding  scenery  whenever  it  verged 
toward  local  politics,  —  a  topic  he  did  not  care  to  meddle  with. 
A  son  of  the  chief,  about  eight  years  old,  ran  in  with  a  pome- 
granate he  had  pierced  with  a  rifle-ball,  and  received  a  present 
for  such  proficiency  in  Kurdish  education.  This  consists  mostly 
in  learning  to  handle  weapons  skilfully,  and  ride  fearlessly  over 
the  roughest  of  their  mountain-roads.  Some  knowledge  of 
letters  is  acquired,  indeed,  by  men  of  rank,  and  there  are  even 


126  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

females  who  can  read  the  Koran;  yet,  with  all  this  want  of 
education,  Dr.  Grant  found  the  Kurds  manifest  a  desire  for 
information  truly  encouraging.  Before  he  left  the  tent  the 
chief  gave  the  kavass  a  receipt  for  his  safe  delivery,  as  though 
he  had  been  a  bale  of  goods ;  and  assigned  him  a  guard  of  his 
own,  since  he  was  now  responsible  for  his  safety,  to  the  Nestorian 
border. 

Dr.  Grant  spent  the  second  evening  with  the  mutsellim  (local 
governor),  who  was  verging  on  delirium  tremens,  from  drinking 
so  much  brandy,  to  counteract,  as  he  said,  the  bad  water  of  the 
place.  Like  Saul,  he  had  summoned  a  skilful  musician  to  expel 
the  evil  spirit  by  the  soothing  strains  of  a  harp,  that  had  origin- 
ally seventy -two  strings  ;  and,  though  eight  of  them  were  broken, 
the  music  was  still  quite  harmonious.  Tlie  doctor,  along  with 
other  remedies,  prescribed  total  abstinence,  and  we  shall  hear 
from  his  patient  aga'in. 

Akra  boasted  of  a  Nestorian  school  in  its  earlier  days ;  but 
now  only  twenty  villages  of  that  sect  remained  in  the  district. 
Those  in  the  town  —  some  thirty  houses  —  had  become  Papists ; 
and  they  and  the  Jacobites  each  had  a  church  excavated  in  the 
solid  rock  of  the  mountain.  The  whole  population  might  amount 
to  two  thousand  souls. 

Dr.  Grant,  having  sold  his  horse,  set  off  at  sunrise,  Oct.  10, 
on  a  mule.  At  first  his  road  lay  along  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tains to  the  west ;  then,  entering  a  pass  to  the  north,  he  came  to 
the  Hazir.  He  had  now  left  the  route  of  former  travellers,  and 
fairly  entered  on  an  unexplored  region.  The  first  day  he  passed 
three  or  four  Nestorian  villages,  one  of  which  contained  nearly 
a  thousand  souls,  and  at  night  lodged  in  a  Kurdish  hamlet,  at 
deadly  strife  with  another  just  in  sight.  Three  men  had  been 
killed  from  that,  and  only  two  from  this ;  and  now  the  former 
were  watching  to  settle  the  quarrel  by  the  deliberate  murder  of 
another  of  their  neighbors.  On  the  third  day  from  Akra  he 
entered  Amadia,  —  the  first  European  that  had  stood  within  its 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  127 

waLs.  This  town  is  situated  on  the  top  of  a  rocky  truncated 
cone,  about  a  thousand  feet  high,  separated  from  the  Matineh 
range  by  a  narrow  dell,  and  overlooks  the  large  and  irregular 
valley  of  the  Sapna,  which  lies  between  that  range  and  the  Gara 
on  the  south.  The  wheat  of  the  valley  is  good  and  abundant, 
and  the  grapes  the  finest  Dr.  Grant  had  seen.  The  raisins  made 
here  are  celebrated  even  in  Persia.  But  the  climate  is  very 
unhealthy,  and  war  had  made  sad  h;ivoc  among  the  people.  Dr. 
Grant  climbed  up  a  long  and  weary  foot-path,  and  passed  the 
Turkish  sentinels  at  the  gate,  at  two  p.  m.,  Oct.  12.  The  chief 
he  had  visited  at  Akra  was  not  allowed  to  enter  this  fortified 
post ;  and,  with  his  castle  there  in  ruins,  and  a  strong  garrison 
here,  the  province  was  deemed  secure  against  revolt.  Out  of  a 
thousand  houses  in  the  tov/n,  three-quarters  were  now  in  ruins, 
and  the  sickly  looks  of  the  remaining  inhabitants  heightened  the 
general  aspect  of  desolation.  Both  the  civil  and  military  gov- 
ernor were  sick,  so  that  the  visit  of  a  physician  was  to  them 
most  welcome.  Dr.  Grant  spent  a  quiet  Sabbath  here ;  and,  so 
completely  did  their  language  and  general  appearance  resemble 
their  own,  that  his  Nestorian  attendants  rebuked  some  of  the 
Jews  (there  were  about  a  hundred  families  there)  for  working  on 
the  Lord's  day.  He  found  that  more  than  half  the  Nestorians 
of  tl'C  province  had  fallen  away  to  the  Pope,  though  the  adher- 
ents of  Mar  Shimon  were  much  more  numerous  in  Berwer,  the 
next  district  to  the  north. 

Dr.  Grant  ascertained  that  the  Habor,  or  Khabor,  rises  near 
Julamerk,  and  flows  within  ten  hours  of  this  place,  to  the  west, 
and  is  not  the  same  with  tlie  Bitlis  Soo,  as  McDonald  Kinneir 
had  asserted ;  while  the  Zab,  visible  from  the  walls  some  ten 
miles  to  the  east,  was  identical  with  the  Hakkary  river  of  the 
maps.  And  though  a  certain  English  writer,  who  ought  to 
have  known  better,  "^  says  that  the  Ravandooz  tributary  had 
bee  a  mistaken  for  the  Great  Zab  up  to  the  visit  of  Mr.  Ains- 

*  Chesney's  Euphrates  and  Tigi-is,  vol.  i.  p.  24. 
11 


128  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     NESTORIANS. 

wm-th  in  1841,  ^  yet  Dr.  Grant,  in  1839,  discovered  that  it  was 
only  a  branch,  and  tbat  the  so-called  Haksary  river  was  the 
real  Zab,  and  published  his  discovery,  both  in  England  and 
America,  before  Mr.  Ainsworth.  That  the  author  of  the  Eu- 
phrates Expedition  was  not  ignorant  of  Dr.  Grant's  book, 
appears  from  his  reference  to  it  on  the  113th  page  of  the  same 
volume  ;  so  that  such  a  statement  is  the  more  difficult  to  explain. 

On  Monday,  besides  attending  to  the  sick  of  the  town.  Dr. 
Grant  prescribed  for  more  than  forty  of  the  garrison,  and 
received  the  warmest  thanks  of  the  governor,  who  said  God  had 
sent  him  to  them,  when  they  had  neither  medicine  nor  physician, 
to  alleviate  their  sufferings. 

Kasha  Mendo,  the  Nestorian  priest,  bewailed  the  low  state  of 
his  church,  and  feared  that  his  people,  in  their  ignorance,  would 
fall  before  the  wiles  and  violence  of  the  Papists.  His  own 
father  had  been  bastinadoed  into  papacy.  "  But,  with  God  and 
truth  on  our  side,"  says  Dr.  Grant,  "  we  have  nothing  to  fear,  if 
we  only  do  our  duty."  The  Nestorians  have  nobly  stood  their 
ground,  and  are  still  on  the  watch-tower.  As  I  approached 
their  rocky  fastnesses,  their  first  inquiry  was  whether  I  were  a 
'  Catoleek,'  declaring  such  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  could  never 
enter  there." 

*  This  mistake  is  still  continued,  even  in  such  a  work  as  Black's  Gene 
ral  Atlas,  Edinburgh,  1851. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

FIRST     JOURNEY    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS  —  DUREE VIEW    FROM    SUMMIT    OP 

PASS  RECEPTION  LEZAN  SABBATH  SACRAMENT  ASHITHA   

PRIEST    ABRAHAM  CHUMBA  —  MALEK  NESTORIAN     WOMEN  NAZEE 

MOUNTAIN-ROADS  MAR      SHIMON 'S      RESIDENCE  JULAMERK  BASH 

KALAH,    AND    SICKNESS    OF    THE    EMIR. 

At  an  early  hour  on  the  15th  of  October  he  was  on  his  way 
to  the  goal  so  long  desired,  and  now  in  view.  The  nearest  vil- 
lages of  Tyary  are  twelve  hours  distant  from  Ashitha ;  but  one 
of  their  bishops  resides  at  Duree,  five  hours  nearer,  and  he 
engaged  mules  to  that  place.  These  could  not  be  brought  into 
the  town,  lest  they  should  be  pressed  into  the  service  of  the 
government;  and  he  therefore  descended  on  foot,  with  the  brother 
of  the  priest,  who  went  to  introduce  him  to  the  bishop.  His 
kavass  from  Akra  was  loth  to  go  any  nearer  the  dreaded 
Tyaree,  who  were  regarded  as  almost  invincible,  and  said  to  be 
able  to  vanquish  their  enemies  by  some  magic  in  their  looks. 
They  once  drove  the  flocks  of  Ainadia  from  under  its  very 
walls ;  and  when  the  celebrated  chief  of  Ravandooz  threatened 
to  add  their  country  to  his  other  conquests,  they  hung  up  the 
heads  of  seven  of  his  men  over  a  narrow  bridge,  as  a  sample  of 
what  would  befall  those  who  dared  to  cross  it.  The  chief,  after 
one  or  two  similar  warnings,  wisely  turned  away.  "  To  the 
borders  of  their  country,"  said  the  brave  Pasha  of  Mosul  to  Dr. 
Grant,  "  jny  head  for  yours.  Carry  gold  on  it,  and  fear  not ; 
but  I  warn  you  that  I  can  protect  you  not  a  step  beyond.  These 
infidels  know  neither  pasha  nor  sultan,  but  from  time  immemo- 
rial every  man  has  been  his  own  master."     At  the  summit  of 


130  DR.     CxRANT     AND     THE 

the  rocky  defile  that  led  over  Toora  Matineh  the  eyes  of  Dr. 
Grant  rested,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  mountains  of  the  Nesto- 
rians,  across  the  intervening  vale  of  Berwer;  and,  as  he  ap- 
proached Duree,  after  a  weary  ride  of  seven  hours  over  the 
rough  passes,  he  was  hailed  by  the  questions,  Who  are  you  ?  — 
what  do  you  want  ?  —  where  are  you  going  ?  The  demand  was 
echoed  from  every  side,  and  seemed  to  issue  from  the  rocks 
above  him.  The  deep  Syriac  gutturals  of  their  stentorian  voices 
ATOuld  have  startled  a  less  fearless  heart.  Their  fierceness  of 
expression,  joined  to  the  inquiry  they  made  of  the  guide  whether 
the  company  were  Papists,  or  bad  men  whom  they  might  rob, 
bereft  the  poor  kavass  of  all  the  courage  he  had  left,  and  he  was 
glad  when  Dr.  Grrant  consented  to  his  return. 

Finding  that  he  spoke  their  language,  the  people  gathered 
round  the  missionary  as  though  he  had  been  one  of  themselves. 
They  were  bold  and  outspoken,  without  the  fawning  sycophancy 
of  the  Rayahs  of  Persia  or  Turkey,  and  in  their  own  rough  way 
welcomed  him  to  their  mountain-home. 

Next  day  they  came  for^  medicine  from  all  directions.  One 
was  alarmed  by  the  operation  of  an  emetic,  but  soon  felt  so 
relieved  he  wanted  more;  and  others  called  loudly  for  the 
same.  The  bishop  —  a  venerable  old  man,  with  a  long  white 
beard  —  was  very  cordial,  and  took  him  into  their  ancient 
church.  It  was  a  cave,  high  up  on  the  mountain-side,  enlarged 
by  an  addition  of  heavy  masonry  in  front,  and  within  as  dark  as 
midnight.  Says  Dr.  Grant :  "  He  guided  my  hand  to  a  plain 
stone  cross  on  the  altar,  supposing  that  if  I  was  a  Christian  I 
should  press  it  to  my  lips ;  and  I  confess  there  is  something 
alFecting  in  this  simple  act  of  theirs,  disconnected  as  it  is  with 
image-worship,  or  the  corrupt  observances  of  the  Papists.  May 
it  not  be  that  their  abuse  of  such  symbols  has  carried  us  to  the 
opposite  extreme  ?  "  The  bishop  slept  in  his  lonely  church,  so 
as  to  attend  pray  rs  before  daylight  in  the  morning,  and  was 
much  pleased  with  the  gift  of  a  box  of  matches  to  light  hif> 


I 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  131 

lamp.  A  number  of  bee-hives  belonged  to  the  church,  and  their 
fine  clear  honey  was  held  peculiarly  sacred.  Red  squii-rels,  the 
first  he  had  seen  in  the  East,  were  skipping  about  in  the  shady 
walnut-trees ;  and  iron  mines,  not  far  off,  were  wrought  by  the 
Nestorians  for  the  chief  of  Berwer,  for  Duree  is  subject  to  the 
Turks,  and  immediately  responsible  to  him. 

The  high  range  he  had  seen  from  the  crest  of  Toora  Matineh 
still  separated  Dr.  Grant  from  Tyary.  He  had  been  warned  at 
Mosul  not  to  enter  till  he  had  an  escort  from  Mar  Shimon ;  but 
ten  days*  delay,  at  that  season,  was  to  be  avoided,  if  possible. 
His  generous  spirit  suggested  that  going  in  at  once  would  man- 
ifest a  confidence  that  might  gain  their  good-will.  Still  he  would 
net  venture  on  his  own  responsibility ;  but,  as  the  bishop  also 
favored  the  idea,  he  resolved  to  go.  He  exchanged  his  Turk- 
ish boots  for  the  bishop's  sandals,  made  of  hair,  —  for  he  must 
pass  places  where  he  would  slide  on  the  smooth  narrow  ledges 
of  the  mountain-side,  if  he  attempted  to  walk  with  ordinary 
shoes, —  and,  thus  equipped,  set  off  early  on  the  18th.  A  toil- 
some ascent  of  an  hour  and  a  half  brought  him  to  the  summit. 
And  here  we  must  let  him  speak  for  himself: 

"  From  this  point  the  Nestorian  country  opened  up  before 
me  like  an  amphitheatre  of  mountains,  broken  with  dark,  deep 
defiles  and  narrow  glens,  in  a  few  of  which  I  got  a  glimpse  of 
smiling  villages,  that  for  ages  had  been  the  secure  abodes  of  this 
branch  of  the  church.  Here  was  the  home  of  thousands  of 
Christians,  around  whom  Omnipotence  had  reared  ramparts 
whose  summits  blended  with  the  sky.  In  this  '  munition  of 
rocks  '  has  God  preserved  us,  for  some  great  purpose,  a  remnant 
of  his  ancient  church,  safe  from  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet, 
—  from  the  flames  of  persecution  and  the  clangor  of  war.  As 
I  gazed,  I  could  not  but  exclaim : 

'  On  the  mountain-top  appearing, 
Lo,  the  sacred  herald  stands  ! 
Welcon'^  news  to  Zion  bearing, 
11* 


132  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

Zion,  long  in  hostile  lands  : 
Mourning  captive, 
'   God  himself  shall  loose  thy  bands  !  ' 

"  I  retired  to  a  sequestered  nook,  where  I  could  feast  my 
eyes  with  tha  prospect,  and  thank  Ilim  who  had  brought  me 
through  many  perils  to  behold  the  land  whence  issued  such 
bright  beams  of  hope  for  the  future  of  the  East.  My  thoughts 
went  back  to  the  days  when  their  missionaries  traversed  all 
Asia,  and,  for  more  than  a  thousand  years,  preached  the  gospel 
in  Tartary,  Mongolia,  and  China  itself;  to  the  time  when,  not 
from  Nestorius,  but  from  Bartholomew  and  Thaddeus,  if  not 
from  Thomas  himself,  these  lands  first  received  the  knowledge 
of  a  Saviour.  I  looked  at  them,  sunk  into  semi-barbarism,  the 
flame  of  vital  piety  almost  quenched  on  their  altars,  and  my 
heart  bled  for  their  condition.  But  Faith  pointed  to  the  time 
when  these  glens  shall  reecho  the  glad  praises  of  our  Grod,  and, 
like  the  morning-star,  this  church  shall  usher  in  a  glorious  day. 
But,  ere  that  bright  period,  there  is  a  battle  to  be  fought  and 
won.  Let  us  arm  this  brave  band  for  the  contest !  On,  then, 
to  the  work  !  "  And  on  he  sped,  down  the  steep  descent,  cau- 
tiously climbing  over  the  cliffs,  creeping  carefully  along  the 
slippery  ledges;  now  resting  under  a  wild  pear-tree,  and  anon 
riding  down  the  zigzag  path  to  the  banks  of  the  noisy  Zab. 
Here  Lezan,  one  of  their  large  villages  extended  for  more  than 
a  mile  amid  fertile  gardens. 

It  seemed  as  if  God  had  guided  his  servant  to  one  of  the  mo^t 
inspiring  prospects  that  even  that  country  of  natural  grandeur 
could  present,  to  nerve  him  with  fresh  zeal  for  the  trials  yet 
before  him.  Had  he  entered  by  Ashitha,  he  would  have  passed 
up  a  dreary  glen  piled  with  rocks,  between  which  scarce  a 
particle  of  soil  was  to  be  seen,  and  then  his  view  from  the 
summit  had  been  bounded  by  the  narrow  valley  of  that  villaoe 
and  the  snowy  peak  beyond.  Had  he  crossed  nearer  the  Zab, 
his  lower  position  had  cut  off  the  distant  view.     But  au  unseen 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  loo 

iiand  led  him  to  the  very  spot  where,  of  all  others,  his  heroic 
spirit  revelled  in  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  Nor  was  this  the 
only  smile  vouchsafed  to  the  fearless  pioneer.  As  he  drew  near 
the  village,  he  asked  himself,  "  What  reception  shall  I  meet  from 
these  wn"ld  sons  of  the  mountain,  who  never  saw  a  foreigner  be- 
fore ?  How  will  they  treat  the  stranger  thrown  helpless  on  their 
mercy  ?  "  One  breath  of  suspicion  might  blast  his  fondest  hopes. 
But  prayer  had  been  offered  for  him,  and  God  answered  it 
better  than  he  could  have  devised  for  himself.  The  only  man 
he  had  ever  seen  from  this  remote  region  had  come  to  him 
nearly  a  year  before,  hardly  hoping  that  his  sight  could  be  re- 
stored. For  six  weeks  he  had  groped  his  way  from  village  to 
village,  till  Dr.  Grant  removed  a  cataract  from  his  eyes  in 
Oroomiah ;  and  now,  scarcely  had  he  entered  Lezan,  when 
this  young  man  came,  bringing  a  present  of  honey,  and  intro 
duced  him  at  once  to  the  confidence  and  love  of  the  people, 
—  an  incident  that  unites  to  the  poetry  of  fiction  the  solidity  of 
Iruth  and  the  sweetness  of  a  reward  of  faith.  He  was  soon  en- 
gaged in  dispensing  medicine  to  others  ;  and  no  wonder  that 
then,  and  long  after  his  death,  the  mountaineers  said  that  this, 
his  first  journey,  was  like  the  journeys  of  Him  who  went  about 
doing  good. 

He  was  invited  to  the  house  of  the  Reis  (head  of  the  village), 
built,  like  the  rest,  of  stone  laid  in  mud,  with  a  flat  roof,  two 
stories  high  (as  they  generally  are,  on  one  side  at  least,  when 
built  against  the  side  of  the  mountain),  and  with  two  or  three 
rooms  in  each.  Seated  on  the  floor  of  a  large  upper  room, 
entirely  open  on  one  side,  food  was  brought  in  a  huge  vrooden 
bowl,  and  placed  on  the  skin  of  a  wild  goat,  that,  with  the  hair 
side  down,  served  at  once  for  table  and  cloth.  Coarse  millet 
bread  was  laid  round  the  edges,  and  each  v/ith  a  wooden  spoon 
dipped  from  the  bowl.  Whenever  the  goat-skin  was  used,  he 
noticed  in  it  ^ne  fragments  of  previous  meals,  left  in  order  to 
retain  the  blessing  once  pronounced  over  them  by  the  priest,  for 


134  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

the  common  people  cannot  use  the  ancient  Syriac,  in  which  their 
prayers  are  written. 

The  women  seemed  neat,  frugal  and  industrious.  Their  spin- 
ning illustrates  Proverbs  31  :  19  ;  for,  as  they  use  no  wheel, 
holding  the  distaff  in  one  hand,  they  twirl  their  long  wooden 
spindles  with  the  other,  stopping  to  wind  the  thread  on  them  as 
fast  as  it  is  made.  They  clothe  their  households  in  a  scarlet  or 
striped  stuff,  like  Scotch  tartan  in  texture  and  material.  And, 
as  in  the  Highlands,  so  here  also,  a  man's  clan  is  known  by  the 
color  of  the  stripe  and  the  pattern  of  the  ornament  with  which 
the  knitting-needle  has  adorned  his  socks.  In  the  evening  two 
of  the  women  in  the  house  sat  with  their  husbands  in  the  rows 
that  lined  the  walls  of  the  apartment, —  a  fact  which  none  accus- 
tomed to  the  seclusion  of  the  sex  in  the  East  would  fail  to  notice. 
Each  of  them  gave  him  a  brass  bracelet  to  show  to  the  ladies 
of  his  own  land,  and  wondered  how  they  could  negotiate  their 
matrimonial  engagements,  or  their  fathers  give  them  away  with- 
out a  dowry  in  return. 

The  houses  in  Lezan  are  scattered  here  and  there  over  the 
terraces  that  rise  irregularly  from  the  river,  and  present  a  beau- 
tiful appearance  as  they  peep  out  of  the  fields  and  shrubbery. 
Grrapes,  figs  and  pomegranates,  are  found  here,  as  in  other  vil- 
lages on  the  Zab.  Rice  is  also  cultivated,  to  the  great  injury 
of  health.  Apples  grow  in  the  higher  villages,  but  not  very 
good.  "Wheat,  quite  a  luxury  among  them,  is  brought  from  Am- 
adia,  in  exchange  for  honey  and  butter  ;  for  they  cannot  spare 
the  ground  needed  for  its  growth.  3Iil]et  —  called  by  them 
praga  —  is  the  great  staple,  and  is  cultivated  evi^rj'where. 

October  20th  was  Dr.  Grant's  first  Sabbath  in  the  mountains. 
A  board  struck  with  a  mallet  summoned  the  village  to  the  church 
at  sunrise."^     Each  one,  as   he   entered,  put  off  his   shoes  (Ex, 

*  Query.  —  Does  not  this  practice  explain  that  sentence  in  the  Nestu 
rian  inscription,  discovered  in  China,  which,  speaking  of  Christians,  says, 
'•'  They  beat  the  wood,  sounding  out  the  voice  of  benevolence  and  mercy '\' 
—  See  Williams'  Mi'ldle  Kingdom,  ii.  292. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  135 

3 :  5),  an  J,  after  kissing  the  thresliold,  passed  on,  hat  in  hand,  to 
kiss  the  gospels  on  the  altar,  and  the  hand  of  the  priest.  The 
church  was  solidly  built  of  stone  and  lime,  with  an  arched  roof, 
and  might  stand  for  ages.  Some,  according  to  their  books, 
have  already  stood  more  than  fourteen  centuries. 

They  quoted  Matt.  7  :  14,  to  explain  the  low,  narrow  door, 
that  requires  one  to  stoop  almost  double  before  he  can  enter. 
The  prayers  and  chanting  of  the  psalms  were  in  the  ancient 
Syriac,  now  an  unknown  tongue  to  all,  save  a  very  few  of  the 
priests.  One  of  these  translated  the  gospel  for  the  day  into  the 
spoken  language,  and  this  was  the  preaching.  Sometimes  this 
is  accompanied  with  legends,  of  which  there  is  no  lack.  It  was 
a  sacramental  occasion,  and  the  elements  consecrated  in  the 
"  holy  place  "  were  brought  out  by  a  priest  and  deacon.  Each, 
in  turn,  received  a  morsel  of  bread  from  the  priest,  who  held  a 
napkin  under  the  chin  while  he  put  it  into  their  mouths ;  and  they 
then  drank  of  the  wine,  which  the  deacon  held  with  similar  care. 
In  the  whole  service  there  was  no  idolatrous  adoration,  not 
even  kneeling  to  receive  the  elements  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  an 
almost  scriptural  simplicity. 

The  priest  first  partook  himself,  and  then  offered  the  elements 
to  Dr.  Grant.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  not  communed  with  them  ; 
but  he  felt  that  to  decline  now  would  do  as  much  injustice  to  his 
own  feelings  as  to  theirs.  For  many  months  he  had  not  enjoyed 
the  privilege.  God  had  led  him  safe,  through  many  perils,  to  a 
people  who  had  received  the  gospel  from  the  apostles,  and  pre- 
served its  doctrines  comparatively  pure  ;  and,  though  the  want 
of  spiritual  life  was  sadly  manifest,  he  hoped  some  sparks  of  piety 
were  yet  burning  on  these  altars.  Though  languishing,  he  could 
not  reo-ard  tb"?  church  as  altogether  dead.  His  heart  was  drawn 
out  to  them  in  tender  love,  so  that,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  seldom 
had  he  commemorated  the  love  of  Christ  under  circumstances 
.  more  full  of  interest."  The  congregation,  which  had  behaved 
with  nuich  propriety  during  the  service,  retired  quietly  at  its 


136  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

close,  and,  in  passing  out,  each  received  a  morsel  of  meat  rolled 
up  in  a  thin  leaf  of  bread.  This  was  a  remnant  of  the  Agapae 
(love-feasts)  of  the  earlj  church.  Throughout  the  day  there  was 
no  noisy  merriment,  and  no  attention  to  business,  but  a  quiet 
stillness  pervaded  the  village,  such  as  he  had  seldom  seen  in 
more  favored  lands.  Formerly,  they  are  said  to  have  put  per- 
sons to  death  for  travelling  on  the  Sabbath.  In  the  evening 
they  assembled  again  at  the  church  for  prayer,  as  they  do  morn- 
ing and  evening  through  the  week.  Yet,  unlike  other  places  in 
the  East,  many  repeat  their  prayers  during  the  week  at  home. 
Before  commencing  they  kiss  a  small  wooden  cross,  simply  as 
an  expression  of  faith  in  Christ,  for  they  never  regard  it  as  an 
object  of  worship. 

He  was  so  thronged  with  the  sick  from  all  the  region,  that  he 
had  to  forbid  more  than  three  or  four  coming  forward  at  once. 
It  was  ten  o'clock,  in  the  forenoon  of  October  21,  before  he 
could  leave  to  pursue  his  journey  up  the  valley  of  the  Izani. 
For  four  miles  his  path  lay  through  an  almost  continuous  vil- 
lage, Minyanish  commencing  where  Lezau  ends.  In  Zawitha, 
across  the  stream,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  valley,  they 
boasted  that  no  less  than  forty  out  of  a  thousand  could  read ; 
but  few  of  these,  probably,  could  do  more  than  pronounce  the 
words  of  the  ancient  Syriac,  without  understanding  them.  Be- 
fore night  he  arrived  at  Ashitha  (avalanche), —  so  called  because 
they  are  frequent  there,  —  where  he  was  the  guest  of  Kasha 
Auraham  (Priest  xlbraham),  an  archdeacon,  and  reputed  the 
most  learned  of  the  Nestorians.  For  twenty  3^ears  he  had  been 
transcribing  their  ancient  books  in  his  beautiful  handwj'iting ; 
but  even  he  had  not  an  entire  Bible.  The  Patriarch  alone  is 
so  highly  favored,  and  his  is  in  half  a  dozen  volumes.  Thus 
divided,  one  has  the  gospels,  another  the  epistles,  a  third  the 
psalms,  and  so  on.  The  book  of  Revelation,  the  epistle  of 
Jude,  second  and  third  of  John,  and  second  of  Peter,  they  did 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  137 

not  possess,  but  readily  received  them  from  us,  on  the  testimony 
of  other  Christian  churches,  and  their  internal  evidence. 

When  Dr.  Grant  told  Priest  Abraham  of  the  wonders  of  the 
press,  his  keen  eye  brightened,  and  he  was  impatient  to  see  it  at 
work  immediately.  He  begged  him  to  write  down  his  name  for 
a  copy,  "  and  mine,  too  !  "  "  and  mine,  too  !  "  at  once  echoed 
all  around  the  room.  He  was  also  very  desirous  for  schools, 
and  said  that  multitudes  would  attend,  if  one  could  be  opened 
in  Asshitha.  Dr.  Grant  estimated  the  population  of  this  village, 
at  first,  as  high  as  five  thousand  souls ;  but  afterwards  put  it 
down  at  three  hundred  houses,  or  three  thousand  souls.  Half 
of  the  people  spend  the  summer  with  their  flocks  on  the  moun- 
tains, and  these  only  are  in  danger  from  the  Kurds.  The  rest 
cultivate  the  fields,  and  labor  in  other  ways  at  home,  and  all 
spend  the  winter  in  the  village  in  perfect  safety.  Just  before, 
five  thousand  sheep  had  been  stolen  near  the  Habor,  by  the 
Kurds  on  the  other  side.  But  the  Nestorians  cut  off  their 
return  to  their  villages;  and  thus  shut  in,  they  were  re- 
leased only  by  the  intercession  of  the  Emir  of  Hakkary,  who 
induced  the  Patriarch  to  call  back  his  people.  He  did  so, 
hinting  to  them,  however,  that  they  might  bide  their  time. 
And,  before  Dr.  Grant  reached  Oroomiah,  they  had  driven 
away  from  the  Kiirds  four  thousand  sheep,  besides  mules,  and 
enough  else  to  make  up  their  loss,  with  interest. 

Eight  hours,  east-north-east,  over  the  mountains,  brought  him, 
on  the  22d  of  October,  to  Chumba,  on  the  Zab.  He  rode  over 
the  first  range,  but  had  a  long,  steep  climb,  on  foot,  over  the 
second.  Here  he  passed  one  of  their  summer  pastures,  in  a 
bracing  air,  among  streams  cool  as  the  snow  around  them,  the 
higher  summits  already  glistening  in  their  fresh  winter  apparel. 
Each  village  has  its  own  summer  camp  (zozan),  and  few  spend 
the  warm  season  in  the  low  villages  on  th^  Zab,  on  account  of 
the  heat  and  fevers.  Those  who  do  sleep  on  high  platforms 
(arzaleh),  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  mosquitos  and  sandflies.  But, 


188  DR.     GR  ANT     A  XD     TII  E 

pleasant  as  are  these  pastoral  scenes,  Dr.  Grant  felt  it  would 
need  no  little  love  to  Christ  and  this  people  to  reconcile  mis- 
sionaries to  the  thousand  privations  of  a  nomadic  life ;  and  still 
it  was  just  such  a  life  that  nourished  the  piety  of  David,  tend- 
ing his  father's  flocks  in  the  hill-country  of  Judea,  and  Moses 
in  the  land  of  Midian. 

At  the  foot  of  the  first  range,  he  passed  one  of  the  many 
lead  mines,  where  they  were  busy  smelting  the  ore.  From  the 
base  of  the  second,  though  his  knees  trembled  from  fatigue,  he 
continued  on  foot,  along  a  narrow  path,  cut  out  of  the  face 
of  the  cliff,  down  to  the  stream,  which  he  crossed  on  a  long, 
bare  pole.  His  mule  fell  into  the  torrent,  but,  fortunately, 
without  injuring  his  medicines.  The  whole  landscape  was  wild 
enough,  but  became  truly  sublime  when  the  lightning  flashed 
from  the  dark  canopy  above,  and  the  thunder  reverberated 
through  the  glen.  But  he  was  safely  lodged  in  the  guest-cham- 
ber of  the  Malek  (ruler),  in  Chumba,  before  the  rain  began  to 
pour.  The  storm  continued  for  more  than  thirty  hours.  His  host, 
as  his  name  imports,  was  the  head  of  one  division  of  the  large 
tribe  of  Tyary,  his  authority  being  that  of  influence  rather  than 
executive  power.  The  Patriarch,  at  this  time,  like  the  high 
priest  of  old,  was  sujDreme,  both  civilly  and  ecclesiastically. 
Excommunication  is  the  severest  penalty  he  can  inflict;  and,  as 
it  outlaws  the  ofiender  from  society,  as  well  as  the  church,  is 
greatly  dreaded  by  the  people. 

Accustomed  to  see  the  agricultural  population  of  Persia  and 
Turkey  dwelling  together,  in  compact  villages,  as  the  only  secu- 
rity from  plunder,  Dr.  Grant  was  surprised  to  see  the  houses 
of  the  Nestorians  scattered  far  apart  from  one  another  in  their 
narrow  valleys.  This  comparative  security  he  attributed  to  the 
high  sense  of  honor  among  them,  vrhich,  as  in  more  enlightened 
countries,  sometimes  produces  results  not  quite  so  honorable. 
Some  years  before,  a  young  man  in  the  family  of  his  host  began 
to  cut  down  a  valuable  tree.     His  cousin  forbade  him,  but  in 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  139 

vain,  and  then  brought  out  his  gun,  and  deliberately  shot  him  on 
the  spot.  The  parents  of  both  were  absent  at  the  time  ;  but  as, 
accordino-  to  their  custom,  the  bereaved  father  could  accept  of 
nothing  but  the  blood  of  his  brother's  child,  they  were  both 
buried  in  one  grave  before  the  setting  of  the  sun. 

Again,  at  a  social  gathering,  a  man,  in  a  moment  of  passion, 
plunged  his  dagger  into  the  heart  of  his  neighbor,  and  the 
brother  of  the  slain  instantly  laid  the  murderer  dead  at  his 
feet.  Such  summary  justice  tends  to  render  crime  infrequent ; 
for  men  feel  that,  should  they  commit  it,  they  have  little  chance 
to  escape.  But,  as  we  shall  see,  even  such  certainty  of  retribu- 
tion does  not  always  restrain  their  unbridled  passions. 

The  Malek,  secluded  as  he  was,  had  heard  enough  of  other 
countries  to  ask  about  steamboats  and  balloons,  and  also 
whether  the  English  had  ships  that  could  sail  under  water.  Dr. 
Grant  was  delighted  with  his  desire  for  information,  and  longed 
to  respond  to  the  constant  call  for  the  Bible,  and  schools  to 
teach  them  to  read  it.  The  village  priest  visited  him,  and  was 
much  interested  in  his  plans  for  their  improvement.  He  ate  no 
flesh  of  any  kind,  not  even  milk  or  vegetable  oils,  by  way  of 
attaining  to  eminent  holiness.  Such  instances,  however,  are 
uncommon  ;  but,  as  celibacy  is  a  part  of  the  vow,  it  has  super- 
seded the  few  convents  that  once  existed.  Similar  vows  among 
the  females  are  very  rare,  and  nunneries  are  unknown. 

The  next  day  was  spent  among  the  sick,  and  in  social  and  re- 
ligious intercourse  with  the  people,  — just  such  work  as  he  loved. 
Though  the  village  was  small,  yet  from  that  and  the  hamlets 
round  about  multitudes  flocked  to  see  the  stranger,  whose 
benevolence  surpassed  all  they  had  ever  known  before. 

The  former  wife  of  his  host  was  a  sister  of  Mar  Shimon,  and 
the  only  female  among  them,  in  her  day,  who  could  read.  Her 
memory  is  precious,  and  the  people  loved  to  speak  in  her 
praise.  The  heart  of  the  lonely  missionary  was  cheered  by  this 
respect  paid  to  an  educated  female,  and  he  dwells  with  delight 
12 


140  D  R  .    G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  K 

Oil  a  younger  sister  who  followed  her  example,  and  was,  then 
the  only  woman  m  the  moiuitams  who  could  read  her  Bible. 
While  indulging  in  anticipations  of  what  would  be  when  these 
mothers  and  daughters  were  not  only  educated,  but  converted 
to  God,  little  did  he  think  that  one  then  present  would  real- 
ize his  hopes,  —  it  may  be  in  answer  to  his  prayers  that  day  for 
their  salvation. 

Not  quite  twelve  years  after,  Mr.  Coan  was  welcomed  to  this 
very  village  by  a  solitary  believer  in  Jesus.  Nazee  —  for  that 
was  her  name  —  had  escaped  to  Oroomiah  from  the  massacre  of 
1843,  and  there,  in  the  female  seminary,  became,  as  she  hoped, 
a  follower  of  the  Lamb.  After  leaving  the  seminary,  she  re- 
turned to  her  native  village,  where  she  proves  the  truth  of  the 
words  of  her  Saviour  :  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion." Her  lovely  example  reproves  the  wickedness  of  her  un- 
godly neighbors,  and  therefore  excites  their  hate.  Her  own 
mother  joins  them  in  their  persecutions.  A  dress  sent  to  Nazee 
from  America  they  tore  in  pieces  before  her  eyes  ;  and  this  is 
but  one  of  the  daily  insults  heaped  upon  her,  for  Jesus' 
sake.  Alone  and  helpless,  her  very  innocence  inflaming  the 
anger  of  savage  mountaineers,  we  need  not  mention  what  suffer- 
ings she  endures.  The  servants  of  Mar  Shimon,  when  they  come 
to  the  village,  treat  her  with  wanton  cruelty.  No  wonder  that 
she  hailed  the  visit  of  the  missionary  with  delight.  Foremost  to 
welcome  him,  she  followed  him  everywhere,  eager  to  treasure 
up  all  that  he  said.  She  would  hear  from  her  dear  teachers 
and  schoolmates,  but,  more  than  all,  of  Christ.  Long  after 
others  retired,  she  remained,  till  midnight  reminded  her  that, 
though  refreshed  by  the  interview,  yet  the  weary  traveller 
needed  rest.  Before  day,  she  was  again  listening,  with  tears, 
to  his  words  of  comfort.  When  he  rose  to  go,  she  followed  him 
to  the  river-side,  thinking  of  the  fresh  insults  that  visit  would 
occasion,  after  he  was  gone,  and  praying  that  nothing  might 
separate  her  from  the  love  of  Christ.     On  leaving,  he  gave  her 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS 


143 


I 


a  small  copy  of  the  gospels,  and  pointed  to  the  verse,  "  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  She  began  to  read,  but  her  voice  failed  her,  and  she 
burst  into  tears.  Kneeling  down  by  the  roaring  torrent,  the 
missionary  commended  her  to  God,  and  thus  left  the  lamb 
among  the  wolves,  sad,  and  yet  confident  that  the  Lord  would 
keep  her.  Yes,  afflicted  one,  God  will  keep  thee  !  You  are 
blessed  when  men  revile  and  persecute  you  for  Jesus'  sake.  He 
will  not  lead  you  through  any  flood  of  sorrow  where  he  is  not  wil- 
ling to  walk  by  your  side,  and  hold  you  up  with  his  right  hand. 
And  if,  as  we  hope  to  hear,  he  gives  you  the  souls  of  those  who 
thus  despitefully  use  you,  in  answer  to  your  prayers,  you  will 
yet  bless  him  for  these  distresses  on  earth,  and  then  glory  in 
them  forever  above.  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Grant,  "  However 
self-denying  your  situation  now,  yet  in  its  results  you  will  en- 
joy a  purer  happiness  than  earth  can  give." 

He  left  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Malek  Ismael  about  ten 
o'clock,  October  24 ;  and,  finding  that  his  mules  could  not  cross 
the  Zab,  as  two  bare  poles  supplied  the  place  of  the  usual  bridge, 
he  determined  to  proceed  on  foot.  With  two  Nestorians  to  carry 
his  baggage,  and  the  young  deacon  from  Duree,  he  crossed  the 
slippery  structure,  though  it  vibrated  most  fearfully  over  the 
rushing  torrent.  Turning  to  the  north,  the  river  dashed  along 
by  his  side ;  its  roar  echoed  and  reechoed  from  the  perpendicu- 
lar cliifs  on  either  side.  These  shot  up  among  the  clouds,  reveal- 
ing, now  and  then,  snowy  pinnacles,  still  higher,  glittering  in 
the  sun.  When  tlie  pass  widened  a  little,  a  few  trees  here  and 
there  peeped  through  the  sloping  pile  of  stones  that  reached  from 
the  water's  edge  far  up  the  rocky  walls;  and  wherever  the 
mountains  receded  to  allow  of  it,  two  or  three  houses  looked 
out  of  their  leafy  orchards,  propped  up  by  terraces  that  barely 
allowed  room  for  their  foundations.  In  other  places  the  moun- 
tains shade  the  traveller  from  the  noon-day  sun,  and  he  invol- 
untarily lays  hold  of  the  rock  to  prevent  his  falling  into  the 


144  DR.GRANTANDTHE 

river  below.  Rain,  at  intervals,  soaked  his  hair-sandals  through 
and  through,  but  he  "  travelled  all  day,  with  a  buoyant  heart." 
Two  of  his  associates,  who  afterwards  travelled  this  road  with 
mules,  found  them  no  great  addition  to  their  comfort;  for,  after 
being  compelled  to  trudge  three-quarters  of  the  way  on  foot, 
sometimes,  on  the  remainder,  the  feet  of  the  mule  slipped  down 
between  the  stones,  up  to  the  body.  One  of  them,  after  turning 
two  complete  somersets,  from  the  narrow  path  along  the  base  of 
the  cliff'  above,  landed  in  the  river,  with  all  their  baggage  ;  and 
another,  in  sliding  down  a  steep  place,  caught  his  foot  between 
two  converging  rocks,  and  sent  his  rider,  head-foremost,  into  a 
\horn-bush  (Astragalus  Tragacantha),  from  whence  he  issued 
"VN  ith  his  shalwar,  (Turkish  trousers)  torn  into  strips. 

Dr.  Grant  spent  the  night  at  Bemeriga,  where  he  was  grati- 
fied to  find  the  villagers  furnish  him  with  a  new  pair  of  sandals, 
for  medicine,  after  they  had  refused  them  for  money. 

Next  evening  he  reached  Erek,  exhausted  by  a  walk  of  ten 
long  hours,  and  was  refreshed  with  a  welcome  from  an  old  ac- 
quaintance, who  had  come  to  Oroomiah  more  than  two  years 
before,  with  an  almost  hopeless  disease,  and  received,  not  medi- 
cine only,  but  needful  clothing  for  his  journey  back.  From  that 
time  his  benefactor  had  forgotten  him,  amid  a  crowd  of  oth- 
ers. But,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  the  promise  of  God  is  sure ; 
after  many  days,  I  found  not  only  the  bread  I  had  cast  upon  the 
waters,  but  everything  to  gladden  me  in  my  weary  wanderings. 
I  enjoyed  his  hospitality,  most  of  all,  as  coming  from  Him  who 
crowneth  me  with  loving-kindness  and  strews  my  path  with 
mercies." 

He  started  for  the  residence  of  Mar  Shimon  at  eight  o'clock 
next  morning,  and  forded  the  river  on  a  horse,  the  first  he  had 
seen  in  the  mountains,  the  river  four  feet  deep  and  about  fifty 
yards  in  width.-  The  road  now  began  to  improve:  A  gallery  was 
cut  in  the  face  of  the  clift",  and  regular  steps  chiselled  in  the  worst 
places.     It  was  the  regular  caravan  road  from  Salmas  to  Jula- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  145 

merk.  In  some  places,  indeed,  it  was  supported  from  below  by 
masonry  that  seemed  ready  to  give  way  under  the  weight  of 
loaded  mules,  but,  as  a  whole,  was  so  superior  to  what  he  had 
passed,  that  he  wondered  how  Yahya  Khan  should  say  it  was  so 
frightful  that  a  fat  horse  would  there  suifer  enough  in  one  day, 
from  terror,  to  make  him  as  thin  as  a  knife-blade  !  Fatal  acci- 
dents sometimes  occur,  however,  when  horses  meet  in  its  nar- 
rowest parts.  Mar  Shimon  sent  some  of  his  men  to  escort 
Dr.  Grant  to  his  dwelling,  high  up  on  the  mountain ;  and 
they  led  him  in  a  north-east  direction,  till  they  recrossed  the 
river  in  sight  of  it,  at  the  mouth  of  a  tributary  from  Diss.  The 
bridge  is  commanded  by  the  summer  residence  of  Suleiman  Bey, 
and  the  residence  of  Mar  Shimon  is  half  a  mile  beyond.  Some 
Kurds  here  scrutinized  him  very  closely,  but  did  not  molest  him, 
while  Mar  Shimon  also  was  examining  with  a  spy-glass  his 
strange  visitor  from  the  New  World.  According^  to  Nestorian 
geography,  the  earth  —  that  is,  the  Old  World  —  is  a  vast  plain, 
surrounded  by  the  ocean,  in  which  Leviathan  moves  around,  to 
keep  the  water  in  motion  ;  and,  as  he  is  so  long  that  his  head 
follows  hard  on  his  tail  in  the  operation,  they  could  not  imagine 
how  their  guest  had  climbed  over  his  back  to  get  to  them. 

At  half  past  twelve  the  Patriarch  welcomed  him  most  cordially 
to  his  house,  but  without  any  of  the  extravagant  and  heartless 
compliment  so  common  in  Persia.  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Grant, 
"  He  had  been  looking  for  a  visit  from  us  till  he  had  begun  to 
think  we  would  never  come.  And,  now  that  I  had  taken  such 
a  tedious  journey  to  see  him,  he  could  not  doubt  that  I  would 
have  come  earlier,  but  for  the  dangers  that  had  prevented  my 
direct  entrance  from  Oroomiah.  '  And  now,'  he  added,  'you  are 
doubly  ^v'elconie, — m}-  heart  is  glad.  Yon  will  make  my 
house  your  home,  and  me  your  elder  brothei-.  It  is  a  happy  day 
for  us  both.     May  your  journey  be  blessed.'  " 

The  Patriarch  was  then  tall,  but  robust,  and  well  propor- 
tioned; his  countenance  at  once  pleasant,  expressive  and  Intel- 
12*  ■     . 


146  DR-     «RANT     AND     THE 

ligent.  His  ample  forohead  bore  the  mipre.ss  of  serious  thought, 
while  his  hirge,  flowing  robes,  his  Kurdish  turbau,  long,  gray 
beard  and  dignified  demeanor,  pointed  him  out  at  once  as  the 
Pj'triarch  of  the  East.  AVere  it  not  for  the  youthful  fire  in  his 
eye,  Dr.  Grant  would  have  thought  him  nearer  fifty  than  thirty- 
eight.  He  was  born  in  1801  ;  but  his  difficult  position  was 
enough  to  make  the  frost  of  care  settle  prematurely  on  his  locks. 
To  preserve  harmony  among  his  own  fierce  tribes,  and  with  the 
Kurds  around,  might  tax  the  wisdom  and  patience  of  more  cel- 
ebrated statesmen.  It  was  evident  his  thoughts  were  on  tem- 
poral full  as  much  as  spiritual  things ;  for  his  first  inquiries  were 
about  their  political  prospects,  the  movements  in  Turkey,  and 
the  designs  of  the  European  powers.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  do 
they  not  come  and»deliver  my  people  from  the  Moslem  oppres- 
sion that  confines  us  in  these  mountain  fastnesses  ?  "  Dr.  Grant 
adds,  "  He  carries  his  rifle  for  the  brown  bear  or  wolf,  rather 
than  for  war.  His  income  is  moderate,  and  he  lives  in  a  plain, 
simple  style.  Two  brothers  and  a  younger  sister,  with  five  or 
six  servants  of  both  sexes,  compose  his  household.  His  domes- 
tic affairs  are  managed  by  liis  sister,  who  shows  herself  well 
qualified  for  the  task."  The  Kiirds  had  lately  annoyed  the  dis- 
tricts of  Jelii  and  Tehoma  ;  and,  while  the  doctor  was  with  him,  he 
was  called  to  decide  the  fate  of  two  captive  Kurds,  from  a  tribe 
which  had  killed  two  Nestorians.  Blood  for  blood  is  the  law, 
and  a  tribe  is  held  accountable  for  each  of  its  members.  The 
Patriarch  inclined  to  mercy,  but  his  people  must  have  justice  ; 
and  he  decided  that,  as  the  captives  had  in  a  manner  become 
their  guests,  they  might  be  spared  if  they  would  pay  the  price 
of  blood;   and  so  the  matter  was  settled. 

During  the  five  weeks  Dr.  (Jrant  was  here,  he  formed  ao 
quaiutance  with  Nestorians  from  all  parts  of  the  mountains,  and 
visited  in  person  the  principal  villages  in  the  vicinity,  endeavor- 
ing in  every  possible  way  to  collect  reliable  information. 
Amono-  others,  he  v 'sited  Kala  *d  SerinD:a,  a  ruined  castle,  that 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  147 

had  been  a  stronghold  in  their  early  contests  with  the  Moslems. 
It  is  perched  on  the  top  of  an  insulated  rock,  several  hundred 
feet  high,  and  so  precipitous  it  could  be  reached  only  by  iron 
pins,  driven  into  the  face  of  the  cliff ;  but,  as  most  of  these  had 
given  place  to  wooden  ones,  he  did  not  risk  the  ascent.  It 
stands  in  an  opening  near  the  foot  of  Mount  Derrek  (mast), 
which  separates  Diss  from  Jelu.  It  is  the  highest  in  the  region 
(not  far  from  fourteen  thousand  feet),  and  was  then  impassable 
from  the  snow.  Among  many  patients  here,  he  had  one 
from  Jelu,  who  would  have 'perished  on  this  mountain  had  not 
his  wife  carried  him  over  on  her  shoulders.  The  women  here 
perform  the  labor  of  men  while  their  husbands  are  absent,  and 
thus  acquire  their  strength.  For,  so  utterly  barren  are  both  Jelii 
and  Bass,  that  many  of  the  men  labor  in  Turkey  during  the 
winter  as  muleteers  or  otherwise,  returning  in  the  spring  to  their 
mountain  homes. 

Their  form  of  church  government  is  hierarchical;  and  yet, 
there  being  no  word  in  Syriac  for  bishop,  they  had  to  borrow 
episcopos,  as  well  as  patriarch,  catholicos,  &c.,  from  the  Greek. 
This  is  more  worthy  of  note,  as  their  language  was  spoken  in 
Palestine  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  and  their  Scriptures  trans- 
lated in  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  everywhere  render 
episcopos  (translated  bishop  in  English)  by  the  word  presbyter, 
or  priest. 

Havino-  heard  nothino-  from  the  Prudential  Committee  since 
leaving  Oroomiah,  Dr.  Grant  resolved  to  return  there  by  way 
of  Julamerk.  This  required  him  to  visit  the  murderer  of 
Schultz  ;  but  he  hoped,  by  securing  his  confidence,  to  open  a 
safe  communication  between  Oroomiah  and  the  mountains;  and 
when  anything  promised  good  to  the  mission  he  never  shrank 
from  it  merely  because  it  involved  personal  danger.  He  had 
previously  procured  letters  to  the  emir  from  both  the  Turkish 
and  Per,bian  authorities,  and  the  Patriarch  offered  to  send  his 
broth  >r  to  introduce  him.     He  also  took  special  care  to  awaken 


148  DK-     GRA^'T     AND     THE 

neither  Kurdish  jealousy  nor  suspicion.  He  carried  little  else 
than  medicine,  and  that  he  hoped  to  retain,  at  all  events.  To 
provide  against  the  loss  of  his  purse,  he  had  secured  some  gold 
in  a  roll  of  blister-salve.  Besides,  he  visited  no  mines,  and  col- 
lected scarce  a  single  mineral  or  plant,  lest  they  should  take  him 
for  a  spy.  He  noted  down  nothing  in  public,  and  even  took  the 
bearings  of  his  compass  unobserved. 

With  such  precautions  he  proceeded  on  his  way,  about  the  Ist 
of  December.  On  leaving,  the  Patriarch  presented  him  with  a 
pair  of  scarlet  shalicar,  trimmed  with  silk,  and  a  New  Testament 
in  the  old  Estranghelo  characters,  written  seven  hundred  and 
forty  years  before.  His  sister,  Helena,  furnished  him  provi- 
sions for  a  week,  and  a  pair  of  warm  mittens,  wrought  by  her 
own  hands.  Ardent  wishes  were  expressed  for  his  return  to 
labor,  with  associates,  as  he  had  done  in  the  plain,  and  a  thou- 
sand blessings  were  invoked  upon  his  head.  The  emir  had  gone 
from  Julamerk  to  Bash  Kala  (head  castle),  two  days  distant, 
and  thither  he  bent  his  steps.  Its  massive  walls  were  visible  in 
its  lofty  position,  long  before  he  reached  the  town  below.  Nu- 
rulah  Bey  had  taken  a  violent  cold,  attended  with  fever  and 
inflammation,  and  the  doctor  was  called  to  prescribe  for  him  im- 
mediately on  his  arrival.  He  did  so,  and  returned  to  his  lodg- 
ings, at  the  foot  of  the  Castle  Hill.  In  the  evening  a  messenger 
again  summoned  him  in  haste  to  his  jjatient.  He  sent  back  word 
to  wait  till  the  medicine  had  taken  effect.  Midnight  brought  a 
second  message,  that  the  emir  was  still  very  ill,  and  must  see 
him  immediately.  Dr.  Grant  arose  at  once,  and  foUoAved  him 
up  the  winding  path,  to  the  castle  gate.  The  sentinels  were 
sounding  the  Kurdish  watch-cry.  The  guard  admitted  him  to 
the  outer  court,  through  doors  cased  in  iron.  From  this  a  sec- 
ond iron  door  led  through  a  long,  dark  passage,  to  the  room 
where  he  lay.  He  was  evidently  impatient,  as  well  as  suspi- 
cious. Swords,  pistols,  guns  and  daggers,  hung  on  the  walls  ;  and 
the  missionary  could  not  but  think  of  the  solitary  traveller,  who 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  149 

had  fallen  by  the  orders  of  this  very  chief.  -The  power  of  life 
and  death  was  in  his  hands,  and  he  was  entirely  at  his  mercy. 
"  But,"  says  he,  "  I  felt  that  I  was  under  the  protection  of  One 
who  had  the  heart  of  kings  in  his  keeping ;  and,  breathing  a 
prayer  for  his  blessing,  I  told  the  chief  the  medicine  was  doing 
well,  though  he  needed  a  more  powerful  dose,  that,  for  a  time, 
would  make  him  worse  instead  of  better  ;  and,  if  he  confided  in 
my  judgment,  he  had  better  take  the  severer  course.  He  con- 
sented, and  I  gave  him  an  emetic,  which  he  swallowed,  after  the 
precaution  of  making  some  of  his  attendants  taste  it,  to  see  if  it 
were  poison.  I  remained  with  him  that  night,  and  next  morn- 
ing he  was  much  relieved.  He  rapidly  recovered,  and  I  became 
a  great  favorite  ;  I  must  either  remain,  or  else  return  soon,  to 
take  up  my  abode  in  the  country,  where  I  should  have  every- 
thing as  I  pleased." 

We,  at  this  distance,  can  hardly  appreciate  the  peril  of  Dr. 
Grant  on  that  eventful  night,  among  those  men  of  blood.  But 
his  calm  and  fearless  bearing,  the  good  will  that  needed  not 
words  to  declare  it  even  to  them,  made  an  impression  that  never 
was  effaced.  Had  the  chief  not  been  sick  as  he  was,  subsequent 
events  show  that  he  would  have  suspected  Dr.  Grant  as  an 
emissary  sent  to  avenge  the  death  of  Dr.  Schultz,  and  so  at  once 
put  him  out  of  the  way.  But  God's  eye  was  on  his  faithful 
servant,  and  He  knew  how  to  order  each  event  for  his  safety. 

The  emir  is  a  man  of  noble  mien.  His  figure  is  command- 
ing, and  his  countenance  manly,  when  not  darkened  by  suspicion 
and  jealousy.  Though  at  first  quite  suspicious  of  Dr.  Grant,  yet 
afterwards  he  was  very  affable,  and,  on  his  leaving,  made  hira 
a  present  of  a  horse,  in  token  of  his  gratitude. 

He  now  joined  a  caravan  to  Salmas,  and  proceeded  thence  to 
Oroomiah,  where  he  arrived  on  December  7th,  after  an  absence 
of  eight  months.  For  half  a  year  he  had  not  seen  a  chair,  and 
had  long  dispensed  with  knives  and  forks,  conforming  himself  In 
these  respects  to  the  customs  of  the  country.     So  changed  was 


j  T/O  1)  R  .     G  R  A  NT     AND     T  II  E     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  t>  . 

his  appearance,  in  his  oriental  costume,  that  he  was  not  at  first 
recognized  by  his  native  acquaintance.  But  it  was  delightful 
to  mingle  once  more  with  Christian  friends ;  and  his  native  lan- 
guage never  sounded  so  sweet  as  when,  after  a  long  sojourn 
among  strangers,  he  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  those  who  loved 
the  Saviour  and  his  precious  cause.  Nor  was  this  his  only  cause 
for  gratitude ;  along  the  cold  highlands  of  Armenia,  over  the 
sultry  plains  of  Mesopotamia,  and  through  the  wild  mountains 
of  Assyria,  he  had  been  brought  safely  through  many  dangers. 
Bright  prospects  of  usefulness  opened  before  him ;  and,  instead 
of  being  laid  aside  from  the  work  he  loved,  he  had  been  introduced 
to  a  new  field,  rich  in  its  promise  of  a  future  harvest.  True,  it 
also  promised  to  call  him  to  endure  hardness  ;  but  he  rejoiced  in 
any  personal  affliction  that  promised  to  work  out  for  the  church 
a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 


CHAPTER     IX. 

AINSWORTir BEREAVEMENT LETTERS SECOND    JOURNEY   THROUGH   THE 

MOUNTAINS HERTUSH   KURDS ERZRUM CONSTANTINOPLE VISIT    TO 

AMERICA CHILDREN THE    LOST   TRIBES RETURN    TO    THE    EAST. 

During  the  winter  two  brothers  of  the  Patriarch  visited  Oroo- 
miah,  and  urged  the  extension  of  our  labors  through  their  country; 
and  Mar  Shimon  wrote,  renewing  his  invitation  for  Dr.  Grant  to 
return  in  the  spring.    The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  letter : 

"  From  the  patriarchal  mansion,  with  prayer  and  blessing, 
my  heart  went  with  you,  0  Hekim  [doctor],  the  day  you  went 
from  me ;  but  after  I  heard  of  your  safe  arrival  I  greatly  re- 
joiced. If  you  inquire  of  my  affairs,  and  what  I  have  to  say,  it 
is  that  word  which  we  spoke  [that  is,  his  desire  that  Dr.  Grant 
should  return,  with  associates,  and  labor  in  the  mountains,  as 
they  had  done  on  the  plain].  What  I  said  to  you  before  is  what 
I  have  to  say  now.  You  and  I  are  one,  and  there  is  no  change 
in  the  things  you  heard  from  me ;  and  again  may  you  be  a  bless- 
ing, and  blessed  with  the  blessings  of  God  and  the  words  of  sal- 
vation ;  and  may  he  give  you  joyful  seasons  and  length  of  years, 
and  remove  and  keep  from  you  troubles  and  disquietudes." 

This  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Ainsworth  ^  —  an  English  traveller, 
who  entered  the  mountains  in  1840.  after  Dr.  Grant  had  passed 
through  them  the  second  time,  on  his  return  to  America  —  to 
illustrate  the  inaptitude  of  tlie  Patriarch  for  epistolary  corre- 

*  Travels  in  Asia  Minor,  &c.,  vol.  ii.  252. 


152  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

spondence.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Ainsworth  felt  it 
necessary  to  assume  an  attitude  of  opposition  to  the  mission  of 
Dr.  Grant.  But  the  following  extracts  from  the  same  volume 
may  throw  some  light  on  the  spirit  of  his  enterprise.  Speaking 
about  the  American  missionaries,  he  says,  p.  248  : 

"  We  informed  the  Patriarch  that  there  were  among  us  many 
zealous  Christians  who  seemed  to  have  read  the  Bible  rather  to 
invent  new  doctrines,  and  rebel  against  the  church,  than  to  give 
them  increase  of  wisdom  and  holiness ;  and  have  preferred  fol- 
lowing such  doctrines,  rather  than  that  of  the  bishops  who  are 
appointed  to  teach  the  nations." 

And  again,  p.  251  : 

"  Mr.  Bassam  [associate  of  Mr.  A.]  informed  them  that  if  one 
of  these  ministers  [Congregationalists]  joined  the  Church  of 
England  he  must  be  ordained  [again],  as  the  church  considered 
them  as  people  who  had  no  apostolic  ordination." 

There  is  another  account  of  his  interview  with  Mar  Shimon, 
that  may  throw  "some  light  on  the  matter.  Native  eye-witnesses 
report  that  he  and  Mr.  Bassam  were  at  first  taken  for  the  friends 
of  Dr.  Grrant,  till  his  hostility  to  the  mission  opened  the  eyes  of 
the  Nestorians  on  that  point.  Both  he  and  his  companion  are 
said  to  have  misrepresented  the  missionaries  after  the  manner 
of  the  Papists  (the  above  extracts  from  his  own  pen  may  indicate 
the  tenor  of  his  remarks),  alid  urged  the  Patriarch  to  drive 
them  out  of  the  country,  till  he  began  to  suspect  they  were 
Papists  in  disguise.  Then  they  changed  their  tone,  and  said 
they  were  like  the  Americans  in  many  respects.  They  offered 
to  open  schools,  and  desired  a  letter  from  the  Patriarch  to  the 
bishops  in  England.  This  Mar  Shimon  refused,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  already  made  an  engagement  with  Dr.  Grant.  They 
then  asked  for  his  seal,  and  that  also  was  refused.  On  this  lat- 
ter point  Mr.  Ainsworth  says,  p.  251  :  "  We  spoke  to  him  about 
writing  a  letter,  which  he  promised  to  do,  and  send  it  the  next 
day ;  but  he  failed  in  this,  and,  on  being  reminded,  said  to  Mr, 


MOJNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  153 

Rassam,  '  I  do  not  know  exactly  what  to  say.  You  know  my 
feelings.  I  am  grateful  and  anxious  for  the  friendship  of  your 
bishops,  and  wish  that  you  would  write  for  me  what  you  consider 
proper  and  decent.'  This,  however,  I  thought  proper  to  advise 
Mr.  Rassam  not  to  do ;  and  the  Patriarch  ultimately  promised 
to  send  the  letter  to  Mosul."  Whether  he  ever  did  so  or  not 
Mr.  Ainsworth  does  not  inform  us.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the 
extract  seemed  a  poor  specimen  of  letter-writing,  especially  as 
the  following  description  of  his  reception  among  the  people 
affords  such  a  contrast  to  that  of  Dr.  Grant.  After  stating  that 
quarters  were  assigned  them  in  an  Armenian  church,  near  Ju- 
lamerk,  he  says,  p.  246  : 

"  The  people,  for  two  days,  had  the  extreme  satisfaction  of 
worrying  us  till  we  had  nearly  lost  all  patience.  We  were  never 
for  one  moment,  night  nor  day,  without  a  number  around  us, 
whose  only  amusement  was  to  examine  all  our  things,  —  to  pass 
jests,  and  fling  epithets  of  scorn,  upon  their  visitors." 

Nor  is  it  strange  that,  after  such  an  errand  into  the  moun- 
tains, Mr.  Ainsworth  should  pass  through  Oroomiah  without 
even  calling  on  the  missionaries,  because,  among  other  things, 
he  had  "  only  provided  himself  with  such  clothing  as  the  neces- 
sities of  the  journey  would  require,"  and  he  "  had  imbibed  quite 
a  horror  of  the  confinement  of  a  house  on  the  hot  plains,  from  so 
long  breathing  the  pure  air  of  the  mountains."—  Vol.  ii.  p.  304. 

His  remark,  pago  ^-34,  that  "  It  is  very  remarkable  that  no 
mission  was  spoken  of  among  the  mountaineers  till  after  our 
arrival  at  Constantinople,"  has  been  sufficiently  answered  in  the 
foreo-oing  pages.  Such  a  charge,  even  had  it  been  true,  comes 
with  a  very  bad  grace  from  one  sent  into  a  field  already  ex- 
plored and  occupied  by  a  missionary  society,  to  oppose  its  quiet 
labors  in  preaching  the  gospel.  But,  when  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Dwight  were  instructed,  in  1830,  to  "direct  their  attention  to 
the  Nestorian  and  Chaldean  Christians  of  Kurdistan  "  (see  their 
Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  175),  and  wore  only  prevented  visiting  Mar 
13 


154  BR.     GRANT     AND     THK 

Shimon  by  the  united  representation  of  English  residents  at 
Tabriz  that  the  region  was  "  entirely  mqccessible,''  and  when  Mr. 
Perkins  was  instructed,  in  Sept.,  1833,  "  to  go  to  Julamerk  as 
soon  as  may  be,  lest  interested  and  perverse  men  should  pi'ejudice 
the  mind  of  Mar  Shimon  against  him,''  one  wonders  how  Mr. 
Ainsworth  can  think  it  so  remarkable  that  no  mission  was  spoken 
of  among  the  mountaineers  till  1839.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  think  it  very  remarkable  that,  when  Mr. 
Perkins  was  sent,  in  1833,  not  to  the  Nestorians  of  the  plain, 
but  to  the  Nestorian  Church  as  a  whole,  and  told  that  his  resi- 
dence "/or  the  present "  only  was  to  be  at  Oroomiah,  Mr.  Ains- 
worth should  be  sent  by  ''  The  Christian  Knowledge  Society  " 
on  such  an  errand,  in  1840.  It  may  be  well  to  add,  in  this 
connection,  that,  when  the  mountain  mission  was  established 
separate  from  that  on  the  plain,  it  was  declared  publicly,  in  the 
instructions  given  to  Mr.  L.  in  1842,  to  be  "  distinct  for  reasons 
purely  geographical ;  "  and  when  it  was  broken  up,  two  years 
afterwards,  the  design  was  not  to  abandon  the  mountain  field,  but 
only  "  to  enter  from  the  eastward,  instead  of  from  the  west,''  as 
stated  in  the  letter  of  Dr.  Anderson  authorizing  the  missionaries 
to  withdraw  from  Mosul, 

But  to  return  to  Dr.  Grant.  As  the  influence  of  the  malaria 
of  the  plain  on  the  system  through  the  summer  continues  to  de- 
velop itself  during  the  succeeding  winter,  his  absence  throughout 
the  warm  season  rendered  his  residence  Eit  Oroomiah  this  winter 
comparatively  pleasant.  Still  his  health  was  aot  recovered,  and 
the  homeless  condition  of  his  children  required  his  return,  for  a 
time  at  least,  to  his  native  land.  December  20  he  thus  wrote  to 
his  eldest  son  : 

"  Nothing  gives  me  such  pleasure  as  to  hear  good  news 
from  my  dear  children.  I  hope  I  shall  hear  again  from  you 
soon ;  and,  what  is  more,  I  hope  to  see  you  both  before  the  end 
of  another  year.  Yes,  my  dearest  son  ;  you  will  again  meet 
your  affectionate  father,  so  long  Jibsent  from  you  in  this  distant 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  155 

land.  What  a  happy  meeting  it  will  be  !  Would  that  I  could 
Bee  you  to-night,  and  press  you  to  my  heart !  How  much  I 
shall  have  to  say  to  you,  and  you  to  me  !  And  you  will  see 
your  brother,  Henry  M.,  and  your  two  little  sisters,  Judith  and 
Mary.  What  a  company  of  us  there  will  be  !  Let  us  see  : 
Seth  Hastings,  Edwin  Hodges,  H.  Martyn,  Judith  Sabrina  and 
Mary  Electa,  and  your  dear  flither.  You  will  have  a  great  deal 
to  tell  about  your  studies,  yourself,  your  brother,  and  all  you 
have  seen  and  experienced.  I,  also,  will  have  much  to  tell  you 
about  these  countries  and  this  people ;  and  perhaps  you  will 
wish  to  come  and  live  here,  and  do  them  good.  I  should  love 
to  write  many  things  about  my  journeyings  in  these  Bible 
countries,  so  that  you  might  love  the  Bible  more  which  tells 
about  them.  But  I  hope  to  see  you  soon,  when  we  will  talk  of 
them  all." 

That  loving  parent  was  soon  to  be  called  to  new  trials,  in  the 
loss  of  those  little  daughters.  Mary  E.  died  Jan.  13,  of  influ- 
enza ;  and,  two  days  after,  the  afflicted  father  thus  wrote  to  Mr. 
Merrick  : 

"  A  year  ago  yesterday  my  dear  companion  entered  into  rest : 
and  yesterday  one  of  her  little  twin-daughters,  our  sweet  Mary 
was  laid  in  the  cold  grave  by, her  side.  Her  spirit  departed  the 
evening  before,  and,  I  cannot  doubt,  has  gone  to  the  same  blest 
mansions  her  dear  mother  so  recently  entered;  for,  without  dar- 
ing to  decide  on  the  final  state  of  all  who  die  in  infancy,  neither 
of  us  will  doubt  the  validity  of  the  gracious  covenant  to  believ- 
ing parents.  What  a  precious  consolation  that  we  have  such  a 
covenant  to  plead  in  behalf  of  our  children  !  Were  it  not  for 
the  consolations  of  the  Bible,  what  should  we  do  ?  0,  what  a 
world  of  trial !  But  hush,  my  soul  !  —  it  is  the  Lord's  doing. 
I  feel  sure  that  our  kind  heavenly  Father  does  all  things  well  — 
yes,  for  the  very  best  —  concerning  us.  But  the  heart  will 
bleed  when  so  often  torn.  My  father,  brother,  wife,  child,  —  all 
laid  in  the  grave  since  I  have  been  here ;  and  as  many  more 


156  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

had  gone  before.  Vain,  fleeting  world  !  't  is  not  our  home ;  but 
thanks,  eternal  thanks  to  God!  we  Jaiqw  that  if  this  earthly 
house  oi"  tabernacle  be  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a 
house  net  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  We  know, 
too,  that  the  Lord  afflicteth  not  willingly,  but  for  our  good,  that 
we  may  he  partakers  of  his  holiness.  0  for  grace  thus  to  im- 
prove these  atHictions  !  Little  Mary  was  a  delicate  flower,  — 
a  breath  passed  over  her,  and  she  is  gone !  I  often  think  of 
your  kind  care  of  her  dear  sister,  when  so  low  at  Tabriz.  The 
Lord  reward  you !  She  is  now  quite  well,  and  exceedingly 
cheerful." 

So  he  wrote  then  ;  but,  twelve  days  after,  Judith  Sabrina 
followed  her  twin-sister  to  the  grave. 

It  was  a  great  comfort  to  him  ta  be  with  them  during  their 
sickness ;  and  Providence  kindly  ordered  that  it  should  not 
occur  during  his  absence  in  the  mountains.  Is  not  missionary 
experience  full  of  such  mercies  ?  The  remark  was  often  made, 
in  that  missionary  circle,  that  "  no  one  could  bear  these  trials 
more  like  a  Christian  than  he."  How  he  bore  them  may  be 
further  seen  in  the  following  letter  to  his  mother,  Jan,  SO,  1840  : 

"  My  Deak  Mother  :  How  often  are  we  called  to  realize  that 
we  are  strangers  here  !  But  we  are  pilgrims  to  the  city  of  our 
God  ;  and,  though  the  way  seem  dreary,  as  one  after  another  of 
our  com])anioDS  are  taken  away,  bright  glimpses  of  heaven  cheer 
us  on,  and  we  feel  that  we  are  nearer  home,  sweet  home.  But 
for  the  prospect  of  repose  in  our  Father's  house,  how  could  we 
bear  our  trials  in  this  vale  of  tears?  It  seems  as  if  my  short 
life  had  been  a  continued  scene  of  trial  and  bereavement.  The 
loss  of  my  dear  father,  three  sisters  and  two  brothers,  was  a  cup 
of  which  you,  dearest  mother,  drank  the  bitterest  dregs;  and 
now  that  I  call  to  mind  your  trials,  I  might  feel  reproved  for 
naming  my  own,  did  it  not  serve  to  convince  you  that  your 
absent  son  knows  how  to  share  your  sorrows.     Though  I  cannot 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  157 

know  all  a  widow's  solitude,  the  removal,  once  and  again,  of  the 
best  of  wives,  has  taught  me  something  of  the  emptiness  of 
earth;  and  noio  I  know  a  father's,  if  not  a  mother's  sorrow,  in 
parting  with  beloved  children. 

"  The  mortal  remains  of  ray  twin-daughters  now  sleep  by  the 
side  of  their  dear  mother.  Sweet  babes !  lovely  in  life,  and  in 
death  not  divided.  What  a  precious  group  !  —  the  mother  and 
her  infant  daughters  awaiting  together  the  morn  of  the  resurrec- 
tion !  Far  from  home  and  friends,  they  have  found  a  grave  on 
one  of  Persia's  loveliest  plains,  now  dearer  to  me  than  ever ;  but 
their  immortal  spirits  are  with  Jesus  in  our  Father's  house, — 
gone  home  a  little  before  us. 

"0,  mother  !  does  not  your  wounded  heart  yearn  for  the 
sweet  repose  of  that  blissful  abode  where  Grod  our  Father,  Christ 
our  Saviour,  your  sainted  parents,  the  partner  of  your  earthly 
life,  your  children  and  grand-children,  will  all  welcome  you 
home  ?  Perhaps,  ere  this,  you  have  entered  on  that  rest.  If 
not,  we  shall  both  go  soon.  Are  we  ready  ?  Surely  we  have 
had  enough  to  wean  us  from  this  vain  world  !  We  have  had 
admonitions,  too.  I  only  wonder  we  are  spared  so  long.  Soon 
shall  we  depart,-  nor  would  we  stay  when  Grod  shall  call  us 
hence.  Still,  we  should  not  be  tired  of  this  world  while  Grod 
has  work  to  employ  us  here. 

"  I  am  looking  forward  to  the  day  when  I  may  once  more  see 
the  face  and  hear  the  voice  of  my  dearest  nfbther ;  but  I  can 
hardly  realize  that  we  shall  meet  this  side  the  grave.  Should  I 
not  live  to  see  you,  accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  all  your  kind- 
P^ess  —  your  unwearied,  motherly  kindness  —  to  me  and  ray 
orphan  sons.     May  God  reward  you  !  " 

To  his  children  he  writes,  February  12  : 

"  My  Dearest  Children  :    I  wrote  to  Henry  not  long  since, 
and  told  him  I  hoped  you  would  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
your  two  sweet  little  sisters.     I  anticipated  the  joy  it  would 
13# 


158  I>  K  .      ^  K  A  N  T     AND     T  II  E 

give  you  to  meet  them  for  the  first  time,  but  they  are  gone. 
Your  brother  Henry  I  hope  you  may  see  ;  he  often  talks  about 
going  to  America  to  see  you.  Do  you  wish  very  much  to  see  him  ? 
AYould  you  like  to  teach  him  to  read?  He  has  no  school,  as  you 
have.  If  you  would  be  useful  or  happy,  improve  your  oppor- 
tunities for  learning.  Study  to  be  wise,  and  learn  to  be  good. 
Nothing  will  make  me  so  happy  as  to  see  you  trying  to  do  good. 
If  yaii  would  be  happy,  you  must  try  to  make  others  so.  It  is 
this  that  makes  missionaries  so  happy.  They  find  it  very  painful 
to  be  separated  from  friends,  and  especially  from  dear  children, 
as  your  father  is  from  you.  But  we  are  happy  in  doing  good  to 
others." 

Circumstances  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  mission  de- 
tained Dr.  Grant  in  Oroomiah  till  the  beginning  of  May.  Then, 
anxious  to  increase  his  acquaintance  Vv^ith  Mar  Shimon,  to  ob- 
tain additional  information  about  the  mountains,  and  especially 
to  remove  any  remaining  doubts  about  the  practicability  of  trav- 
elling there,  instead  of  taking  the  usual  road  to  Erzrum,  he 
resolved  to  pass  through  central  Kurdistan,  on  his  way  home. 

He  left  Oroomiah,  May  7th,  with  his  little  son,  then  four 
years  old,  accompanied  by  Mar  Yohanna  a\id  Mar  Yoosuf.  At 
Salmas  he  failed  to  find  the  weekly  caravan  for  Julamerk,  as 
the  government  had  forbidden  the  exportation  o?  the  wheat  it 
usually  carried  ;  and,  although  on  that  account  he  felt  that  the 
time  was  not  a  fav«-able  one,  yet,  lest  any  should  take  occasion, 
from  his  not  going,  to  defer  doing  anything  for  the  mountains, 
he  determined  to  proceed,  with  a  single  unarmed  footman  from 
Yahya  Khan.  Two  brother,^  of  Mar  Shimon,  with  some  Nes- 
torians,  were  thus  emboldened  to  venture  back  from  their  win- 
ter's sojourn  on  the  plain,  and  all  set  out  together.  The  emir 
was  absent  at  Yan,  but  Dr.  Grant  shrewdly  argued  that  while 
the  Kurd  was  in  the  power  of  the  Turks  he  himself  was  all  the 
safer  among  his  people,  who  would  naturally  fear  that  any  evil 
dope  to  him  would  be  revenged  on  their  chief. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  159 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Stocking,  dated  Khosrova,  May  lOtli,  he 
says  :  "  Do  not  fear  on  my  account.  The  Lord  will  take  care  of 
me,  and  of  his  own  work  among  this  people.  With  my  auticipa= 
tions  of  a  glorious  display  of  grace  among  the  dear  Nestorians,  1 
am  not  anxious  to  be  dismissed  from  toil.  I  would  live  to  see 
His  chariot-wheels  rolling  over  the  highway  which  shall  he  from 
Assyria,  though  I  shall  rejoice  in  it  none  the  less  if  I  behold  it 
from  a  higher  eminence.  To  Grod  I  can  safely  commit  my  life, 
and  all  most  dear  to  me  on  earth.  I  never  saw  Henry  more 
happy  than  nov/.  He  enjoys  his  rides  and  his  visits  very  much, 
and  endures  the  journey  with  quite  as  little  suffering  as  his 
father.  Though  weak  in  body,  I  feel  '  strong  in  the  Lord  ; ' 
'Jehovah  is  the  strength  of  my  life, —  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ? ' 
Report  says  Ibrahim  Pasha  is  marching  against  Georgia,  and 
Russia  is  preparing  to  meet  him  on  the  Aras.  Wars  and  ru- 
mors of  wars;  but  be  not  troubled,  —  God  reigns.  The  Lord 
watch  over  you  and  the  dear  missionary  circle,  who  will  not  for- 
get a  lonely  pilgrim  in  his  wanderings." 

His  way  to  the  mountains  was  so  obstructed  by  snow,  that  he 
had  to  sleep  near  their  summit,  under  the  open  sky,  with  the 
thermometer  below  zero.  Providentially,  the  Patriarch's  brothers 
had  some  carpets,  which  made  them  comfortable  till  three 
o'clock  A.  M,  when  they  resumed  their  journey  by  the  light  of 
the  moon. 

On  descending  to  the  sources  of  the  Zab,  he  found  the  upland 
valleys  dotted  with  the  black  tents  of  nomad  Kurds,  Vfho  are 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  other  tribes,  but  passed  through  the 
midst  of  them  unmolested,  to  Bash  Kala.  Prom  thence  he 
reached  Julamerk,  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  though  the 
road  along  the  Zab  vfas  still  obstructed  by  the  remains  of  ava- 
lanches. Into  one  of  these  his  horse  fell,  and  threw  him  and 
his  little  son  into  the  snow,  but  providentially  without  injury. 
Once  or  twice  afterwards  they  had  similar  falls,  though  he  dis- 
mounted whenever  danger  was  apparent. 


ICO  DR.     GTvANT     AND     THE 

The  ascent  from  the  river  to  Julamerk  is  truly  grand.  The 
road  climbs  in  a  zig-zag  line  uji  the  face  of  the  mountain,  till 
the  traveller  looks  down  almost  perjDendicularly  one  thousand 
feet.  The  roar  of  the  waters  rises  from  below,  reechoed  by  the 
snow-capped  mountains  round  about ;  while  the  castle,  from  its 
lower  eminence,  looks  sternly  down  the  ravine,  reminding  the 
wayfarer  how  much  the  violence  of  man  adds  to  the  natural 
difficulties  of  his  rugged  path. 

The  bridge  to  the  residence  of  the  Patriarch  was  swept  away 
a  few  hours  before  his  arrival,  so  that  he  could  not  visit  the 
tribes  on  that  side  of  the  river,  as  he  had  intended.  But  he 
spent  ten  days  with  Mar  Shimon,  then  the  guest  of  Suleiman 
Bey,  in  the  castle  of  Julamerk.  His  impression  of  the  import- 
ance of  the  mission  to  the  Mountain  Nestorians  gathered  new 
strength  in  this  visit,  and  the  mudebbir  joined  the  Patriarch 
in  urging  his  speedy  return.  He  regretted  that  he  could  not  at 
once  begin  his  labors  among  them;  but  he  felt  encouraged  by  the 
fact  that  while  the  year  before,  on  his  entrance  from  the  west, 
Providence  had  rendered  that  route  safe  by  the  subjection  of 
Amadia,  now  also  the  emir  was  on  his  way  back  from  Erz- 
rum,  pasha  of  the  region  he  had  hitherto  governed  as  an  in- 
dependent chief.  "  But,"  says  he,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Anderson, 
"  we  must  not  expect  the  great  work  to  be  achieved  without  vig- 
orous eilbrt,  and,  j^erhaps,  severe  trials  of  our  faith,"  He  also 
recommended  the  occupation  of  Mosnl,  in  case  of  the  interrup- 
tion of  communication  with  Oroomiah;  for  "these  lands  may 
soon  be  the  theatre  of  fearful  commotions,  so  that  what  we  do 
for  them  should  be  done  at  once,  and  with  all  our  might." 

After  he  was  all  ready  to  leave  for  Mosul,  a  pain  in  his  chest 
delayed  his  departure,  till  he  did  not  dare  to  take  that  route, 
lest  he  and  his  little  son  should  fall  victims  to  the  hot  desert 
winds  of  Mesopotamia.  He  had  again  visited  Julamerk,  and  re- 
sided safely  with  Suleiman  Bey,  who  headed  the  party  that 
murdered  Schultz,  and  now  seemed,  by  special  kindness  to  him, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  l*^)! 

endeavoring  to  blot  out  the  memory  of  that  deed  of  blood. 
This  proved  the  practicability  of  travelling  in  these  regions,  full 
as  much  as  another  journey  through  the  safer  district  of  Tyary 
would  have  done  ;  and,  as  he  had  a  desire  to  see  what  facilities 
Van  afforded  as  a  point  of  access  to  the  mountains,  he  resolved 
to  go  that  way  to  Constantinople. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  before  he  left,  for 
Suleiman  Bey,  even  after  he  was  ready  to  mount,  constrained  him 
to  stay  to  partake  of  a  repast,  while  his  mother  prepared 
some  bread  and  honey  for  the  road.  She  gave  her  fiivorite, 
Henry,  a  bag  of  nuts  and  raisins,  with  a  small  loaf  of  sugar. 
The  Patriarch's  sister  also  sent  a  large  supply  of  hohca  (honey, 
flour  and  butter,  simmered  together),  rolled  up  in  bread ;  and 
his  mother  sent  bread,  cheese  and  eggs,  —  kindnesses  to  appre- 
ciate which  one  needs  to  travel  in  those  mountains,  and  that, 
too,  at  a  time  when,  as  now,  the  scarcity  almost  amounted  to  a 
famine.  The  chief  had  already  given  Henry  a  small  sum  of 
money,  and  his  mother  hung  a  gold  coin  round  his  neck,  as 
a  parting  gift.  "  Such,"  says  his  father,  "  were  some  of  the 
kindnesses  the  Lord  put  into  the  hearts  of  this  people  to  show 
to  the  pilgrim  missionary  in  this  land  of  violence.  May 
He  reward  them  by  the  gift  of  His  word  and  spirit,  and  make 
me  th.e  means  of  leading  them  to  the  Grreat  Physician  !  " 

In  descending  to  the  river  the  road  looked  more  dangerous 
than  before,  and  he  was  glad  to  walk,  rather  than  trust  to  the 
mule,  that,  by  one  false  step,  might  dash  them  in  pieces  on  the 
rocks  Ijelow.  At  sunset  they  encamped  among  the  rocks,  with 
the  roar  of  the  river  for  their  lullaby.  The  stars  shone 
bright  in  the  clear  night.  The  noise  of  the  rushing  waters  was 
more  sonorous  in  the  still  air.  Three  Kurds  stretched  their 
brawny  limbs  by  the  blazing  fire.  But,  though  the  houi'  and 
place  were  suited  to  deeds  of  darkness,  that  parent  found  it 
sweet  to  feel  that  God  was  present  and  know  that  his  angel 
encamped  round  about  them. 


162  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

Next  morning  they  rose  with  the  sun,  from  refreshing 
frleep,  and,  after  following  the  river  some  miles  further,  as- 
C3nded  a  tributary,  on  the  right,  to  its  source,  among  the 
mountains. 

Near  the  summit  of  the  first  range,  they  rested  in  a  grove  of 
willows  and  wild-pear  trees,  just  opening  into  blossom.  An  hour 
further,  they  breakfasted  in  the  church  porch  of  a  Ncstorian 
hamlet,  —  one  of  the  half-score  villages  of  Berwer  Shawina,  all 
of  which  contain  scarce  two  hundred  houses,  and  are  miserably 
poor.  Their  subjection  to  the  Kurds  explains  their  poverty-. 
Last  year,  six  men  of  this  small  hamlet  fell  in  the  defence  of 
their  flocks  from  the  nomad  tribes.  At  noon  they  reached 
the  village  of  Tuhr  Agha,  chief  of  the  Pinianshi  Kurds,  a  tribe 
numbering  some  thousand  families,  and  nominally  subject  to  the 
emir.  Part  of  them  live  near  Tehoma,  and  are  a  bloody  and 
lawless  clan.  Here  they  spent  the  night,  and  were  nowhere 
entertained  more  hospitably.  They  were  treated  with  coifee  and 
sherbet ;  and,  besides  a  dinner  of  excellent  pilav,  were  furnished, 
after  breakfast,  with  a  basket  of  roasted  eQ-gs  for  the  road.  Per- 
haps  the  doctor's  prescriptions  for  the  chief  and  two  of  his  harem 
may  explain  such  generous  hospitality. 

In  one  of  the  Kurdish  villages  which  they  passed,  a  woman 
gave  him  some  of  their  native  socks  in  return  for  medicine.  An 
hour  before  sunset  they  reached  a  large  camp  of  the  Hertush 
Kurds,  the  most  noted  robbers  in  the  region.  Their  chief  came 
out  and  gazed  at  the  strange  sight  of  a  Frank  dress  ;  but  suffered 
them  to  pass  unmolested  to  the  next  camp,  where  the  doctor  was 
not  unwelcome,  as  the  chief  was  ill  of  a  fever,  and  many  suf- 
fering from  oi^hthalmia.  A  tent  was  assigned,  him,  forty  feet 
by  eighteen,  with  one  side  open,  and  a  web  of  reeds  set  up  on 
edge  round  the  other  three;  the  black  hair-cloth  above  was  sup- 
ported by  a  number  of  poles,  and  secured  by  cords  fastened  to 
pins  driven  deep  in  the  ground.  One  quarter  of  the  tent  was 
fenced  off  for  the  lambs,  which  are  not  let  out  to  the  flock  till 


MOUNTAIN     NEST0RTAN3.  163 

the  Kurds  have  secured  most  of  the  milk  for  themselves  ;  and,  as 
with  them  this  is  valued  more  than  the  wool  or  flesh,  they  won- 
der that  we  should  never  milk  our  sheep. 

Three  hours'  ride,  by  a  new  road,  brought  them  again  to  Bash 
Kala,  on  the  29th.  In  the  valley  of  a  small  creek  they  stopped 
a  few  moments,  at  the  spot  where  Schultz  fell.  The  sons  of  an 
Armenian  in  Bash  Kala  buried  him  where  he  lay,  and  a  small 
cairn  marks  the  grave.  One  of  his  servants  was  killed  in  the 
town,  lest  he  should  betray  the  murder  of  his  master.  But  the 
news  soon  reached  Persia ;  and  when  redress  was  demanded,  the 
agent  who  did  the  deed  was  slain  by  the  very  chief  who  had 
ordered  him  to  do  it.  But  in  this,  too,  appeared  the  good  hand 
of  God  ;  for,  had  that  man  been  living,  he  would  have  suspected 
Dr.  Grant  to  be  the  avenger  of  blood,  and  in  all  likelihood  have 
killed  him  also,  to  avoid  the  justice  that  he  feared. 

Schultz  had  carried  away  specimens  of  the  yellow  mineral  from 
their  orpiment  mines,  and  they  suspected  he  had  found  it  to 
contain  gold,  and  so  would  induce  his  king  to  take  possession  of 
their  country.  Major  Rawlinson  attributes  his  death  to  his  tak- 
ing an  Afshar  guard  from  Oroomiah,  instead  of  a  Kurdish  one, 
offered  him  at  Ushnei.  He  was  thus  regarded  as  a  government 
emissary,  discovering  the  bevSt  route  for  the  approach  of  the 
Persian  guns. 

Dr.  Grant  spent  a  r|uiet  Sabbath  in  Bash  Kala,  though,  from 
the  great  scarcity,  he  could  hardly  get  enough  of  coarse  barley 
bread  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  This  quiet  Sabhath  in  Bash  Kala 
is  commended  to  the  notice  of  those  who  find  so  many  excuses 
for  travelling  on  that  day  in  our  peaceful  land. 

He  left  late  in  the  afternoon,  June  1st,  and  two  hours  after, 
the  party  was  alarmed  by  armed  horsemen  on  the  mountain 
above,  vanishing  as  suddenly  as  they  appeared.  Some  got  their 
weapons  ready  for  defence ;  but  his  Nestorians  concluded,  with 
I)r.  Grant,  that  it  was  better  to  be  robbed,  as  they  expected  to 
be,  than  to  kill.     As  flight  was  impossible,  they  kept  on,  pre- 


1  04  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  K 

pared  for  tlie  worst,  and  longing  Ibr  the  protection  of  the  three 
servants  of  the  emir  the  mutsellim  had  promised  to  the  doctor. 
The  supposed  robbers  proved  to  be  these  very  protectors. 

They  crossed  a  snowy  ridge  to  the  castle  of  Mahmudiyeh,  and 
thence  journeyed  to  the  walled  town  of  Van,  overlooked  by  its 
uncieitt  castle.  The  extensive  gardens  around  form  the  summer 
residence  of  many  of  the  people ;  and  the  lake  abounds  in  fish, 
though  its  water  is  so  alkaline  the  people  use  it  to  make  soap. 
Its  surface  is  about  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet  higher  than 
the  Lake  of  Oroomiah. 

He  remained  ten  days  here,  and  had  repeated  interviews  with 
the  emir,  then  on  his  way  home.  He  found  him  still  friendly; 
though,  he  cautiousl}^  adds,  "  how  valuable  his  friendship  will 
prove,  remains  to  be  seen."  The  subjugation  of  the  Nestorians 
was  the  main  object  of  his  visit  to  Erzrum,  and  this  alliance 
with  the  Turks. 

In  writing  from  this  place  to  his  friend  Mr.  Stocking,  he  says  : 
"  Henry  is  as  fond  of  his  horse  as  ever,  and;  I  trust,  may  ])e 
benefited  by  his  long  journey,  —  though  I  sometimes  feel  anxious, 
when  I  think  how  liable  we  both  are  to  sickness  and  accident. 
But  I  try  to  trust  all  in  the  hands  of  God.  From  here  to  Erz- 
rum the  whole  country  is  suffering  from  the  famine,  and  the 
Kurds  may  be  impelled  to  robbery,  if  they  cannot  subsist  on  the 
products  of  the  dairy.  I  shall  take  what  bread  I  can  from  here, 
and  must  trust  to  Providence  when  that  is  gone." 

On  his  way  to  Erzrmn  he  met  with  a  pleasant  illustration  of 
the  value  of  English  protection.  A  horse  was  stolen  from  the 
party,  one  night,  in  the  tent  of  a  Kurdish  chief;  but,  on  his 
threatening  to  complain  to  the  Eu  zl:^'*  consul,  it  was  at  once 
restored. 

His  only  suit  of  clothes  were  ragged  enough,  after  the  hard 
usage  of  his  journey,  to  satisfy  any  advocate  of  missionary 
economy ;  but  this  did  not  prevent  a  hearty  welcome  from  his 
friends  at  Erzrmn,  both  English  and  American.      Among  the 


MOUNTAIN      N  i:  S  T  O  R  I  A  N  S  .  1  tK) 

former  were  Dr.  Riacli,  consul  Brant  and  Col.  Shell;  and  here 
he  met,  for  the  first  time,  Dr.  AVright,  who  still  lives  to  fill  his 
place  in  Oroomiah.  He  had  much  of  counsel  and  advice  to  give 
to  his  successor,  who  has  not  forgotten,  to  this  day,  the  impres- 
sion he  then  received  of  the  doctor's  energy  and  devotion  to  his 
work.  They  called  together  on  the  gentlemen  of  the  Persian 
embassy,  then  in  Erzriim,  and  one  of  them,  observing  Dr.  Grant's 
erect  and  commanding  person,  remarked,  "  A  good  soldier  w^as 
spoiled  when  that  man  became  a  missionary."  He  should  have 
said,  "  A  good  soldier  was  promoted  to  higher  service." 

He  left  Erzrum  June  26,  favored  with  letters  of  introduction 
to  Lord  Ponsonby,  from  his  friend  Col.  Shell,  her  Majesty's 
charge  d'affaires  to  Persia ;  and,  at  Trebizond,  was  right  glad  to 
exchange  the  saddle  for  a  quiet  seat  in  the  cabin  of  the  steamer 
to  Constantinople,  —  grateful  for  that  more  than  paternal  care 
that  had  brought  him  and  his  little  son  safe  through  the  perils 
of  their  arduous  journey. 

In  Constantinople  he  received  from  Lord  Ponsonby  the 
warmest  assurances  of  his  readiness  to  protect  our  labors  in  the 
mountains,  as  well  as  of  his  lively  interest  in  the  Nestorians. 
From  Commodore  Porter  he,  both  then  and  previously,  received 
many  favors.  Even  now  he  had  fears  that  the  new  relations  of 
the  emir  to  Turkey  would  prove  unfavorable  to  the  Nestorians, 
and  to  missionary  labor  among  them.  But,  while  feeling  that 
storms  were  needed  to  clear  the  political  atmosphere,  he  also 
felt  that  "  He  that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sow,  and  he  that 
regardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap." 

From  Constantinople  he  proceeded,  by  steamer,  to  Smyrna, 
where  he  embarked  on  board  the  brig  Franklin  for  America, 
and  wrote  the  following  to  Dr.  Wright,  while  sailing  down  the 
Gulf  of  Smyrna,  July  26: 

"Though,  in  one  sense,  you  are  more  solitary  than  you  will 
always  find   agreeable  [the   good   doctor  has  since  married],  I 
trust  you  may,  as  did  once  a  godly  minister,  make  Christ's  cause 
14 


IGi)  DR.     GKANT     AND     T  U  *: 

your  chosen  bride.  Your  work  is  most  interesting,  and  I  trust 
you  will  do  it  far  better  than  I  have  done,  and,  especially,  be  a 
uuich  better  physician  of  souls.  lu  all  respects  let  your  aims 
he  high  ;  and  do  not  copy  after  me.  Most  unfit  am  I  to  be  even 
a  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of  water  for  the  great  temple.  If 
I  can  get  more  skilful  workmen  into  the  field,  I  shall  feel  that  I 
have  not  lived  in  vain.  Your  ichole  field  must  he  brought  under 
irdmediate  culture.  If  there  are  obstacle^-,  we  must  have  more 
faith,  more  zeal,  and  more  love." 

He  landed  in  Boston  Oct.  3,  18-10,  after  a  passage  of  seventy 
days,  only  to  labor  for  his  beloved  Nestorians  in  other  ways. 
While  in  this  country  he  spent  as  much  time  as  possible  with  his 
children,  who  were  much  in  need  of  his  presence  and  care.  It 
is  one  of  the  sorest  trials  attendant  on  the  separation  of  the  mis- 
sionary from  his  children,  that,  while  his  heart  yearns  after  them, 
they  learn  to  regard  him  as  a  stranger,  and  transfer  to  others 
the  affection  that,  of  right,  is  his.  Thoughtless  persons,  too,  — 
let  us  not  think  they  do  it  intentionally,  —  suggest  to  the  chil- 
dren that  their  parent  ought  to  be  with  them,  and  that,  if  he 
cared  for  them  as  he  should,  he  would  not  leave  them.  Thus, 
too  often,  the  loving  heart,  hastening  to  embrace  those  whose 
absence  has  been  its  daily  grief, "is  overwhelmed  to  find  indifier- 
ence  where  it  looked  for  an  answering  affection. 

He  found  a  pleasant  home  in  Utica  for  the  little  stranger 
from  Persia,  secured  what  he  hoped  were  permanent  homes  for 
his  elder  sons  in  Christian  families  in  New  York  and  Clinton, 
and  made  provision,  from  his  own  scanty  funds,  for  their  liberal 
education,  hoping  that  one  day  God  would  bring  them  to  share 
his  missionary  labors.  Frequent  addresses  to  the  churches,  — 
which  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  them,  and 
would  have  been  more  numerous  had  he  not  str  lined  every  nerve 
to  get  back  to  his  work  as  soon  as  possible,  —  important  confer- 
ences with  the  Prudential  Committee,  and  the  publication  of  his 
work  on  "The  Lost  Tribes,"  occupied  every  moment  of  his  time, 


MOUNTAIN     NE8T0RIANS.  167 

and  gave  him  little  oiDportunity  to  recover  the  health  he  so  much 
needed. 

In  his  book,  besides  giving  an  account  of  the  Nestorians,  and 
his  journeys  in  Kurdistan,  he  sought  to  identify  them  with  the 
ten  tribes  of  Israel.  Of  this  work  he  says  himself,  in  a  letter  to 
a  missionary  friend :  "  I  regret  that  I  could  not  devote  more 
time  to  its  preparation ;  but  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  let  it 
interfere  with  more  direct  missionary  labors.  The  last  part,  iu 
particular,  is  too  much  hurried ;  but  it  may  lead  to  inquiry  and 
more  thorough  elucidation  by  those  more  competent,  and  if  so, 
it  is  well."  Yet  the  book  was  very  popular,  both  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  England,  and  elicited  much  discussion.  It  yielded 
him  also  a  small  income,  at  a  time  when,  but  for  the  aid  thus 
afforded  him,  he  might  have  been  compelled  to  return  and 
provide  otherwise  for  the  support  of  his  children. 

While  here,  his  ardent  appeals  awakened  a  deep  interest  in 
the  people  so  dear  to  him;  and  he  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
two  missionaries,  with  their  wives,  —  Eev.  Messrs.  Hinsdale  and 
Mitchell,  —  embark,  January  18th,  1841,  for  Smyrna,  on  their 
way  to  the  Mountain  Nestorians. 

Writing  to  Mr.  Stocking,  March  14, 1841,  he  says  :  "  There  is 
an  increasing  interest  felt  in  our  mission.  Prayer  will  be  offered, 
and  it  will  be  heard.  Doubtless  we  shall  Kave  a  hard  strujrgle 
with  the  powers  of  darkness ;  but  the  work  is  the  Lord's,  and 
will  go  forward.  He  may  suffer  our  faith  to  be  tried ;  but  let 
us  be  steadfast,  knowing  that  our  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.  I  might  awaken  an  increased  interest  in  our  mission,  if  I 
remained  a  few  months  longer.  I  have  full  and  attentive  houses 
wherever  I  go,  and  have  engaged  to  speak  in  two  churches  in 
New  York  city  to-morrow  afternoon  and  evening.  I  have  also 
urgent  calls  from  important  places  in  this  and  other  states,  but 
must  decline  them,  and  make  my  voice  heard  from  my  field  of 
labor." 

After  a  brief  sojourn  of  six  months,  every  hour  of  which,  not 


J    .8  I)  K.      G  R  A  N  T     A  N  1'      T  II  K 

spent  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  was  fully  occupied,  —  indeed,  he  had 
not  time  to  vi^it  many  of  his  relatives  and  personal  friends, —  he 
hastened  to  return ;  and  the  same  Hand  that  shielded  him  from 
men  of  blood  in  Kurdistan  held  him  back  when  all  his  planr, 
were  laid  to  sail  in  the  ill-fated  President.  He  left  by  the 
Cunard  steamer  of  April  1st ;  secured  the  copyright  of  his  book 
in  England,  which  was  published  on  the  same  day  in  London  and 
New  York  ;  and,  hastening  through  France,  embarked  at  Mar- 
seilles, and  arrived  at  Constantinople  on  the  14th  of  May.  Then, 
having  procured  firmans,  and  made  other  necessary  preparation, 
though  scarcely  recovered  from  a  severe  cold,  he  left,  about  the 
end  of  May,  for  Trebizond.  He  had  intended  to  go  to  Aleppo, 
and  accompany  the  reinforcement  to  Mosul ;  but  late  advices  from 
Syria  rendered  it  probable  that  they  would  be  detained  there 
till  the  autumn  by  disturbances  in  the  interior ;  and,  with  the 
approbation  of  his  brethren  of  the  Armenian  mission,  he  re- 
solved to  go  at  once  to  the  mountains,  and  make  preparations 
to  introduce  his  associates  to  their  future  field  of  labor. 

Before  leaving  Constantinople,  he  thus  wrote,  concerning  his 
health,  to  Rev.  W.  Jones,  May  27th  : 

"  I  am  anxious  to  get  into  the  mountains  as  soon  as  practi- 
cable, but  I  am  providentially  detained  here  by  ill  health.  I 
was  to  have  left  last  week,  but  the  brethren  advised  me  to  delay. 
I  am  now  better,  on  the  whole,  but  the  physicians  join  with  the 
missionaries  in  urging  me  to  delay  another  week,  and  I  have  re- 
luctantly consented.  I  trust  then  to  be  able  to  proceed  ;  but  I 
cannot  conceal  from  myself  that  my  hurried  visit  to  America  has 
not  so  invigorated  my  constitution  but  that  I  ought  to  be  ready 
for  my  last  change  ;  and  I  would  recommend  your  station  to 
take  into  serious  consideration  the  question  of  sending  one  of  its 
members  with  me  into  the  mountains  the  present  summer,  that, 
whatever  a,dvantages  my  acquaintance  with  the  people  has  given 
me  may  be,  as  far  as  possible,  transferred  to  you,  and  thus  no 
advantage  be  lost  to  the  cause  in  case  of  my  removal.     Do  not 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R I  A  N  S .  169 

think,  from  these  remarks,  that  I  am  dangerously  ill ;  but  life 
is  always  uncertain,  and  nothing  should  be  risked  on  the  life  of 
one  man,  and  he  the  tenant  of  a  .shattered  tenement." 

Thus,  he  did  not  count  his  life  dear  unto  him,  in  comparison 
with  the  success  of  his  work.  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind 
this  account  of  his  health,  as  he  follows  him  through  the  toil  and 
hardship  yet  to  come. 

14# 


CHAPTER    X. 

THIRD    VISIT    rO    THE    3I0UKTA1XS RMUMSCENCE DERVISHES  SUMMA- 
RY    JUSTld  i; FAMINE TRAVELLING    IX     THE     EAST FALSE   ALARM 

ENCOUNTEP-   WITH   KURDISH    ROBBERS VAN  TREACHERY    OF     KURDISH 

fiUIDES  —  PATRIARCH   AND     DR.    GRANT     CROSS     THE     HIGHEST    MOUNTAIN 

IN     KURDISTAN JELU  BASS TEHOMA SCRIPTURAL     ASSOCIATION* 

NARROW    ESCAPE DISCOVERY    OF     ANTIQUITIES WINE-DRINKING 

LABORS    IN    ASHITHA NEWS    OF    DEATH    OF    MR.    AND     MRS.    MITCHELL 

THRILLING     ADVENTURE     IN    NIGHT     JOURNEY TREACHERY     OF    NES- 

TORIAN    GUIDES ARABS  ARRIVAL    AT    MOSUL. 

At  Trebizond  lie  makes  this  entry  in  his  journal,  June  8th  : 
"  I  had  thus  far  been  borne  so  rapidly  from  one  exciting 
&cene  to  another,  that  I  had  little  time  to  dwell  on  the  trial  of  a 
second  separation  from  my  native  land  ;  but,  now  that  I  was 
alone,  on  a  rugged  pathway,  that  led  me  far  away  from  civilized 
life,  I  felt  once  more  a  pilgrim  in  a  strange  land."  In  such  a 
state  of  mind,  many  a  tender  recollection  was  awakened  by  the 
sight  of  the  spot  where,  six  years  before,  he  pitched  his  tent, 
for  the  first  time,  with  the  iqved  one  now  in  heaven.  She  had 
listened  with  him  to  that  murmuring  stream,  had  shared  his 
delight  in  the  wdld  mountain  scenery,  and  together  they  had 
bowed  there  before  the  mercy-seat.  Now,  she  w^as  not;  his  chil- 
dren were  far  away,  and  he  alone ;  and  yet  not  alone,  for  Christ 
was  with  him,  and  in  his  heart  he  rejoiced  in  the  privilege  of 
ruffering  for  His  sake.  The  same  castle  of  the  Deribeys  (chiefs 
of  the  valley)  looked  down  from  its  lofty  crag,  and  the  fields  in 
the  vale  w^aved  in  ihe  rich  verdure  of  early  summer,  reminding 
him  of  one  who  used  just  such  a  scene  to  strong-then  the  faith  of 
his  disciples,  —  Matthew  6  :  28 — 31. 

But  these  thoughts  were  dispelled  by  a  storm  that  had  long 


DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     NESTUKIANS.  171 

been  gathering  on  the  momitains,  and  now  burst,  with  loud  thun- 
der, over  the  valley.  As  evening  drew  on,  he  found  shelter  in  the 
post-house  at  Jevizlik.  A  coarse  mat  was  spread  for  him,  and 
coffee  served,  without  sugar  or  cream,  in  cups  not  so  large  a^ 
an  egg-shell.  A  dry  bed  was  not  to  be  had ;  and,  after  sharing 
his  supper  of  coarse,  black  bread,  yoghoort  (thick,  sour  milk) 
and  eggs,  with  two  hungry  dervishes,  he  lay  down,  wrapped  in 
his  wet  cloak  and  the  quilt  he  carried  on  his  saddle.  These 
men,  under  a  coarse  exterior,  possessed  considerable  intelli- 
gence, obtained  in  their  extensive  wanderings.  As  they 
"  dipped  with  him  in  the  dish,"  they  complained  of  the  Sultan 
as  an  apostate,  and  bewailed  the  religion  of  Islam  as  passing 
avfay  with  his  temporal  power.  So  Allah  had  decreed,  and  they 
must  submit.  He  asked  them  when  it  would  pass  away  ;  and 
they  replied  about  the  end  of  a.  n.  1260,  which  corresponds 
with  a.  d.  1844-5. 

Next  morning,  his  ascent  of  the  mountain  was  through  rain 
and  mud,  as  on  his  previous  passage ;  and,  at  a  khan  where  he 
stopped  to  rest,  he  declined  the  honey  they  offered,  as  expe- 
rience had  taught  him  that  its  narcotic  quality,  mentioned  by 
Xenophon,  was  not  altogether  fabulous. 

He  reached  Erzrum  on  the  12th,  and,  as  travelling  alone  was 
unsafe,  he  waited  there  ten  days  for  a  caravan.  June  14th,  he 
wrote  thus  to  his  brother  Ira  :  "  Goodness  and  mercy  have 
followed  me  all  ray  w^y.  My  health,  which  was  not  good  at 
Constantinople,  is  better  now.  In  a  few  days  I  hope  to  leave 
for  Van  and  Julamerk,  and,  after  visiting  the  mountain  tribes, 
to  introduce  my  missionary  companions  to  their  new  home.  The 
Lord  will  take  care  of  me  while  he  has  work  for  me  on  earth. 
May  I  then  be  prepared  to  enter  into  rest.  It  seems  as  if  the 
rest  of  heaven  would  be  peculiarly  sweet,  after  the  cares  asid 
toils  of  a  missionary  life.  The  work  never  seemed  more  arduous, 
nor  the  grace  more  wonderful  that  employs  one  so  unworthy  in 
a  lause  so  glorious.    My  journey  is  not  entirely  free  from  peril ; 


172  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

but  I  .shall  use  caution,  and  trust  that  He  who  has  so  often  pre- 
served me  will  still  be  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.  May  His 
preseno'3  be  with  all  my  dear,  dear  friends  and  children,  in  my 
native  Und  !  " 

And  again,  Tuesday,  15th  : —  "  I  have  just  returned  from  the 
palace  of  the  Pasha.  He  is  trying  to  intimidate  evil-doers ; 
and,  near  one  of  the  city  gates,  I  was  horrified  to  see  an  ill- 
fated  Kurd  still  on  the  gallows,  the  third  day  after  his  execution. 
He  had  been  guilty  of  robbery  and  murder.  Others  had  been 
bastinadoed  till  they  were  nearly  dead.  One  is.  to  receive  a 
thousand  blows  on  the  soles  of  his  bare  feet,  at  the  rate  of  two 
hundred  a  day,  for  five  days.  The  lawless  state  of  the  country, 
doubtless,  calls  for  severity,  but  the  heart  bleeds  at  the  sight  of 
it.  0  for  the  blessings  of  an  enlightened  Christian  government ! 
Would  that  Christians  in  America  knew  how  much  they  owe  to 
the  gospel,  for  surely  they  would  then  do  more  to  diffuse  it 
through  the  world." 

He  left  for  Van  on  the  22d,  with  about  forty  Kurds,  Turks 
and  Armenians,  and  no  attendant  but  his  muleteer,rwhom  he 
hired,  with  his  two  horses,  for  about  nine  dollars.  One  of  these 
he  rode  ;  the  other  carried  his  medicines,  books  for  distribu- 
tion and  provisions  for  the  way  ;  for,  owing  to  the  famine  that 
still  prevailed,  no  bread  was  to  be  had  on  the  road.  Many  of 
the  people,  the  year  before,  told  him  they  had  not  seen  bread 
for  two  months  ;  they  then  lived  chiefly  on  vegetables  boiled 
with  yoghoort^  and  looked  pale  and  diseased,  and  now  it  was 
much  worse.  Many  had  perished  of  hunger,  and  thousands 
more  had  fled  from  the  region.  The  growing  crop  promised 
well,  but,  for  want  of  seed,  little  grain  had  been  sown.  Famine 
is  usually  followed  by  the  plague,  and  it  had  already  broken  out 
in  some  of  the  villages  along  the  road.  On  this  account  he  did 
not  enter  a  house,  save  once,  when  he  was  driven  in  by  a  violent 
storm  of  rain  ;  and  then  he  learned  that  a  dead  body  had  been 
carried  out   of  o-e  room  shortly  before  he   entered  the  other. 


MOUNTAIN     N  J-:  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  B  .  17  o 

Multitudes  pet  ished  through  the  whole  region  from  Erzrura  to 
Mesopotamia.  War,  too,  further  on  the  road,  would  have 
arrested  his  steps,  had  he  been  later  ;  but  God  kept  him  from  the 
pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,  and  the  destruction  that 
wasteth  at  noonda}^ 

We  will  now  sit  down  bj  him,  in  the  road,  on  the  third  day 
from  Erzrum,  and  glean  a  sentence  here  and  there  from  a  letter 
to  the  late  Rev.  W.  Gridley,  then  the  guardian  of  his  second 
son.  "  I  write  you,  seated  upon  the  ground,  among  the  moun- 
tains of  Kurdistan.  My  umbrella,  resting  on  some  of  the  baggage 
of  the  caravan,  affords  a  partial  shade  from  the  noonday  sun  ; 
but,  partial  as  it  is,  it  is  all  within  reach,  for  neither  tree  nor 
house  is  visible  in  any  direction.  The  horses  are  grazing  around 
me,  each  with  an  enormous  pack-saddle  on  his  back,  that  is 
never  removed,  except  v/hen  they  are  curried.  Slung  over 
these,  in  two  equal  parcels,  they  carry  a  load  of  from  three 
to  four  hundred  pounds.  You  would  be  surprised  to  see  them 
carry  such  burdens,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  over  very  steep 
mountains,  on  roads  worse  than  any  you  ever  saw ;  for  in  all 
this  region  they  have  neither  wheeled-carriages  nor  carriage- 
roads.  The  caravan  horses  often  wear  bells  ;  so  that  '  Holiness 
to  the  Lord,'  written  on  the  bells  of  the  horses,  would  seem  to 
denote  the  consecration  to  God  of  the  merchandise  they  carry. 
The  khans,  where  they  stop  for  the  night,  —  when  they  can  find 
them,  —  are  mere  stables,  with  one  end  usually  a  little  higher 
than  the  rest,  and  railed  off,  to  separate  the  men  from 
the  horses.  The  traveller  is  fortunate  who  can  procure  a  little 
of  the  plainest  food ;  but  a  bed  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  except  as 
he  carries  it  with  him.  In  winter,  if  the  b.reath  of  the  horses 
does  not  sufiice,  you  are  ^n -^  by  a  smoky  fire  of  dried  ma- 
nure ;  and  in  summer  the  ^n..  _u  is  absolutely  intolerable,  from 
the  myriads  of  fleas.  Tkis  morning  we  mounted  at  four  o'clock, 
but*  nothing  could  induce  the  hash  katurjee  (head  muleteer)  to 
leave  a  green  meadow,  which  we  had  reached  at  half-past  seven  ; 


174  DR.      GRA  NT     AN  I)     TH  K 

and  here  we  must  wait  in  the  hot  sun  till  three  o'clock,  when  we 
shall  go  a  little  further,  and  encamp  for  the  night.  It  is  trying 
to  proceed  so  slowly,  but  there  are  no  post-horses  on  this  route, 
and  it  is  too  perilous  to  travel  alone. 

'^^  June  25.  —  Last  evening  we  forded  the  Aras  (Araxes),  and 
encamped  upon  its  banks ;  the  water  was  midway  up  the  sides 
of  the  horses,  but  we  raised  the  loads  by  means  of  bags  of 
chopped  straw  piled  under  them,  on  the  pack-saddles,  and  so 
got  over  safe.  During  the  night  some  of  our  horses  strayed  or 
were  stolen  by  the  Kurds,  and  the  muleteers  remained  to  seek 
them,  but  the  rest  of  us  set  oif  soon  after  sunrise,  though  our 
danger  was  increased  by  the  separation  ;  for,  with  most  of  us, 
it  was  a  choice  between  danger  and  starvation.  After  a 
ride  of  thirty  miles,  I  am  getting  ready  to  sleep,  as  usual,  upon 
the  ground.  I  have  a  rug  and  quilt,  to  which  I  add  my  cloak, 
and,  thus"  protected,  sleep  very  comfortably,  —  though  the  dew  is 
so  heavy,  my  covering  looks  in  the  morning  as  though  it  had 
been  exposed  to  a  shower.  But  the  sun  is  setting,  and  I  must 
bid  you  good-night,  and  see  if  I  can  get  some  rice  boiled  for  my 
supper.  It  were  cruel  to  wish  you  here  to  see  us ;  and  yet  I 
wish  you  could  look  on  this  novel  scene  and  motley  group,  with- 
out the  hardship  and  exposure  of  the  journey.  Still,  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Saviour  sweetens  every  care,  and  I  trust  3'ou  will 
not  cease  to  pray  that  it  may  abide  with  your  pilgrim  brother." 

That  night,  while  encamped  near  some  salt  springs,  he  was 
roused  by  a  loud  scream,  and  found  all  in  the  greatest  conster- 
nation. His  first  thought  was  that  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Kurds,  who  had  been  hovering  about  for  two  days ;  but,  instead 
of  Kurds,  only  a  horse  had  quietly  whisked  his  tail  in  the  face 
of  an  Armenian  priest,  who  woke  up  screaming,  and  the  rest, 
not  knowing  why  or  wherefore,  followed  his  example.  As  Dr. 
Grrant  was  satisfied  they  would  now  set  a  watch,  according  to 
his  previous  advice,  he  lay  down  again  and  slept  quietly. 

The  next  night  he  slept  under  the  Roman  walls  of  Malas- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  175 

gird,  not  far  from  the  famous  battle-field  where  Alp  Ari>lan, 
with  forty  thousand  Turks,  defeated  the  Greek  emperor,  Ro- 
mauus  Diogenes,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  thousand  soldiers, 
and  took  him  prisoner,  a.  d.  1071.  The  town  is  small,  and  now 
almost  depopulated.  Thence,  to  Asnawak,  his  road  lay  mostly 
over  a  desolate  waste,  covered  with  igneous  rocks  from  the  ex- 
tinct volcano  of  Supan,  which  has  a  distinctly  formed  crater  on  its 
summit.  On  the  day  following  he  passed  over  the  most  danger- 
ous part  of  the  road,  and  the  fears  of  his  companions  were  in- 
creased by  the  reports  of  recent  robberies,  on  the  road  before 
them,  by  a  party  of  twenty-five  mounted  Kurds,  For  several 
hours  they  kept  near  the  shore  of  Lake  Van,  and  saw  no  dan- 
ger till  they  crossed  some  hills  to  the  plain  of  Ardish.  Here  a 
score  of  Kiirds  suddenly  appeared,  half  a  mile  ofi",  between  them 
and  the  lake.  They  sat  still  upon  their  horses,  while  one  gal- 
loped forward  to  reconnoitre  the  travellers.  To  hide  their 
want  of  arms,  one  of  these  levelled  his  gun  to  shoot  the  Kurd, 
as  soon  as  he  came  within  reach.  Dr.  Grant  advised  him  rather 
to  fire  over  his  head,  and  this  brought  him  to  a  stand.  They  then 
menaced  him  by  signs,  and,  at  their  request,  the  doctor  raised 
his  umbrella,  to  make  an  impression  of  their  consequence.  The 
Kurd,  on  this,  rode  back  to  his  comrades,  who  moved  forward  to 
hear  his  report.  This  roused  the  fears  of  the  doctor's  party  to 
the  highest  pitch.  Each  crowded  to  get  into  the  middle.  Many 
cried  They  are  coming,  —  some  one  thing  and  some  another,  — 
and  all  would  have  fled,  had  not  he  strenuously  opposed  it,  as  sure 
to  provoke  pursuit.  An  eminence  on  the  left,  however,  was  too 
inviting,  and  a  disorderly  movement  begun  in  that  direction. 
Seeing  their  need  of  a  leader.  Dr.  Grant,  whose  quick  eye  had 
caught  another  eminence,  further  on  the  road,  pointed  to  that 
and  bade  them  follow ;  and  the  next  moment  they  were  on  the 
way  again,  in  tolerable  order.  This  proved  the  salvation  of  the 
party ;  for  the  enemy,  seeing  this  apparently  bold  move,  and  not 
relishing  the  warm  reception  of  their  spy,  moved  off  in  another 


17(5  t»li.     GRANT      AND      THE 

direction.  The  thought  that  this  was  only  a  ruse,  in  order  to 
attack  the  party  to  better  advantage  while  fording  the  river, 
hurried  them  on,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  they  w^ere  safe  across. 
On  the  last  day  of  June  it  rained  in  the  night;  but,  with  his 
umbrella  over  his  head,  and  his  saddle-bags  for  a  pillow.  Dr. 
Grant  slept  comfortably,  and  was  on  his  way  again  before  davris. 
He  met  Kurds  again  that  day;  but,  being  few,  they  did  not 
venture  an  attack.  Three  years  before,  seventeen  Armenians 
were  killed  on  this  road,  and,  though  diligent  searcb  was  made, 
no  trace  could  be  found  of  them  or  their  murderers.  This,  and 
the  famine,  that  rendered  the  Kurds  desperate,  lent  additional 
terror  to  each  appearance  of  danger.  They  encamped  at  the 
Armenian  village  of  Meirik,  where  is  an  ancient  stone  church, 
like  that  at  tJtch  Kileeseh,  and  said  to  be,  like  it,  fifteen 
hundred  years  old.  The  Gatholicos'  of  Aghtamar  has  juris- 
diction over  the  Armenians  of  Kurdistan  beyond  Yan  and  Bitlis. 
His  convent  is  on  a  little  island  in  the  lake,  pleasant  and  fertile, 
but  difficult  of  access,  for  want  of  boats.  No  female  is  allowed 
to  enter  that,  or  any  of  the  convents  on  the  other  islands. 

A  ride  of  nine  hours  brought  him  to  Van  the  first  day  of 
July  ;  and  the  pasha  —  the  fourth  who  had  occupied  that  post 
within  a  year  —  assigned  him  as  the  guest  of  the  Armenian 
bishop,  who  occupies  a  pleasant  suite  of  rooms  connected  with 
the  principal  church.  He  remained  there  till  the  morning  of 
the  5th,  treated  more  kindly  than  he  was  last  year  by  his  pre- 
decessor. The  bishop  seemed  to  desire  the  improvement  of  his 
people ;  and  the  hum  of  forty  boys,  learning  to  read,  in  another 
part  of  the  premises,  told  that  education  was  not  entirely 
neglected.  But  this  w-is  the  only  school  for  ten  thousand  Ar- 
menians in  the  city,  and  forty  thousand  more  in  the  province. 
Dr.  Grant  improved  the  opportunity  to  press  home  his  obliga- 
tions, and  gave  the  priest  and  vartabed  some  Armenian  tracts 
as  a  parting  gift.  This  led  to  inquiries  about  our  missionaries ; 
and  he  was  happy,  by  the  aid  of  the  books  themselves,  to  coi> 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  177 

tradict  the  slanders  that,  even  here,  represented  them  as  infidels, 
without  prayers,  religion,  or  a  belief  in  the  Bible  itself. 

As  a  place  of  residence,  Van  is  excelled  by  few  places  in  the 
interior.  More  healthy  than  Oroomiah,  it  has  much  of  its  beauty 
and  fertility.  On  one  side  fruitful  gardens,  stretching  for  miles 
over  the  plain,  and  on  the  other  the  lake,  surrounded  by  the 
glistening  summits  of  the  mountains,  form  a  landscape  of  rare 
oeauty.  Provisions  usually  are  abundant  and  cheap;  and, 
3wing  to  its  height,  it  is  not  subject  to  the  oppressive  heat  of 
aiany  places  in  the  East. 

Several  small  villages,  within  three  or  four  hours'  ride,  con- 
aining  together  about  one  thousand  Nestor ians,  form  a  small 
ommunity  by  themselves,  and  can  be  reached  only  from  Van. 

Col.  Chesney  states  that  Schultz  copied  forty-two  inscriptions 
'lear  the  city,  one  of  them  in  the  cuneiform  character,  and 
deciphered  Shemiram  (Semiramis)  in  several. 

Dr.  Grant  spent  the  fourth  of  July  with  the  bishop,  at  the 
monastery  of  the  seven  churches,  four  miles  on  his  way  to  Jula- 
merk.  One  of  its  seven  chapels  was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake 
more  than  two  hundred  years  before.  The  rest  have  stood,  it 
is  said,  for  eight  hundred  years ;  and  some  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions indicate  that  it  may  have  been  built  on  former  ruins.  It 
commands  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and  lake,  and  is  embowered  in 
fertile  gardens  and  vineyards,  watered  by  mountain  rills ;  but 
the  climate  is  too  cold  to  bring  grapes  to  perfection. 

Dr.  Grant  left  the  convent  July  5,  as  the  bell  was  ringing  for 
matins,  and  passed  over  a  range  of  hills  to  the  valley  of  the  Ho- 
shab.  This  he  forded  once,  and  then  recrossed  it  on  a  bridge  at 
the  castle  of  Mahmudiyeh,  vrhere  he  stopped  during  the  last 
shower  of  rain  he  saw  till  the  13th  of  October,  in  Mosul.  Kandi 
Kileeseh  was  said  to  be  two  hours  to  the  east.  Three  hours  to  the 
south-east  brought  him  to  the  Nestorian  village  of  Seel,  or  Seer, 
about  a  mile  from  the  road.  They  had  sufiered  so  much  from 
Moslem  depredation  that,  at  first,  they  treated  him  with  much 
15 


i  <  >S  D  R  .      G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

reserve ;  but  his  salutation  in  their  own  language  won  then 
confidence,  and  he  wa&  delighted  to  find  himself  once  more 
among  friends,  who  knew  him  by  rejDutation,  though  they  had 
never  seen  him.  They  told  him  the  story  of  their  oppression, 
that  had  reduced  a  numerous  population  to  a  mere  handful ;  and 
he  ]"ejoiced  in  the  opportunity  to  point  them  to  the  Friend  of  the 
poor  and  suffering,  and  then  prayed  with  these  few  sheep  among 
the  wolves.  Next  morning,  about  an  hour  from  the  village,  he 
passed  over  some  deep  banks  of  snow  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountain;  then,  descending  a  ravine,  he  turned  from  the  road, 
over  some  irregular  hills,  to  the  plain  of  Albagh,  whence  Bash 
Kala  was  visible  two  miles  to  the  north.  As  he  was  a  day  too 
late  for  the  weekl}'^  caravan  to  Julamerk,  he  hired  two  Kurds  to 
conduct  him  to  the  residence  of  Mar  Shimon.  The  first  day  all 
went  on  well,  as  an  uncle  of  the  emir  was  in  the  company,  and 
the  doctor  slept  in  his  tent  at  night ;  but,  next  day  (July  8), 
while  alone  with  his  Kurdish  attendants  in  the  most  solitary 
part  of  the  road,  the  muleteer  stopped,  and  demanded  additional 
pay,  and  the  guide,  who  had  been  sent  to  protect  him,  joined  in 
the  demand.  They  both  refused  to  go  further  unless  he  gave 
them  money  on  the  spot.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  He  had 
noticed  them,  .just  before,  turn  considerably  out  of  the  road  to 
repeat  their  prayers,  and  he  knew,  from  experience,  that  at  sucli 
times  they  were  most  to  be  dreaded ;  for  when  they  thus,  as 
they  think,  wipe  oft'  old  scores,  they  are  bolder  to  begin  anew. 
To  accede  to  their  demand  would  have  been  to  invite  them  to 
plunder,  and  then  kill  him  to  conceal  the  crime.  To  resist  was 
impossible,  as  they  were  armed,  and  he  defenceless.  But,  by 
using  a  discreet  firmness,  —  which  none  could  do  better  than  he, 
—  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  avoided  anything  that  might  give 
them  a  pretext  for  murder,  he  succeeded  in  inducing  them  to 
proceed,  and,  before  night,  was  cordially  welcomed  by  old  friends 
in  Kerme,  two  of  whom  went  with  him,  next  morning,  to  the 
residence  of  the  Patriarch. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  179 

This  deliverance  justified  the  confidence  expressed  in  a  letter, 
written  just  befiare  leaving  Van,  in  which  he  says,  "  The  most 
toilsome  and  dangerous  part  of  my  journey  is  yet  before  me ; 
hut,  with  my  acquaintance  with  the  people,  I  trust  I  shall  pass 
through  in  safety,  relying  always  on  the  strong  arm  of  God,  my 
defence.  I  cannot  doubt  that  prayer  is  offered  in  my  behalf, 
and  I  feel  a  sweet  confidence  that,  whatever  becomes  of  the  weak 
and  unworthy  instrument,  the  cause  of  God  among  the  dear 
Nestorians  will  go  forward.  Whether  we  ever  meet  again  in 
this  world,  is  more  than  I  can  say.  Bearing  each  other  in  the 
arms  of  faith  to  a  throne  of  grace,  let  us  be  faithful  unto  death, 
when  we  shall  wear  a  crown  of  life." 

The  Patriarch  was  absent  when  he  arrived,  but  was  sent  for 
immediately ;  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "his  welcome  and 
unremitted  attentions  were  all  that  I  could  ask."  He  had  pre- 
viously sent  word  to  Tyary  to  have  his  people  look  out  for  him, 
and  escort  him  safely  on  his  way,  as  he  had  expected  him  to 
arrive  from  that  direction.  He  now  got  ready  to  go  with  him 
to  Jelu  in  person,  proposing  to  send  his  brother  Zadok  to  intro- 
duce him  to  such  parts  of  the  country  as  he  had  not  yet  visited. 

The  day  after  his  arrival  at  the  Patriarchate  —  July  10  —  he 
writes  to  Mr.  Stocking,  of  Oroomiah  :  "  You  will  have  heard 
that  I  am  at  length  brought  again  to  the  field  of  my  future 
labors  and  trials,  —  for  trials  here  I  have  ever  expected,  and 
they  may  be  very  formidable.  But,  with  my  unshaken  confi- 
dence that  the  Lord  has  mercy  in  store  for  this  people,  and, 
through  them,  for  the  surrounding  nations,  I  will  not  be  dis- 
couraged. It  is  the  Lord's  cause,  and  in  him  will  I  trust  for  its 
success.  The  Patriarch  never  seemed  more  cordial  than  now ; 
but  there  is  an  unsettled  aspect  to  the  whole  region,  which  seems 
to  denote  changes  in  prospect.  Some  of  them,  for  a  time,  may 
seem  adverse  to  our  plans;  but  I  feel  a  strong  conviction  that, 
in  the  end,  they  will  be  overruled  for  good." 

These   glimpses   of   his   heart,  in    familiar   intercourse  with 


180  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

i^i  lends,  show  that,  though  his  journal  is  not  loaded  with  the  dis- 
pl  ay  of  his  religious  feelings,  yet  he  lived  as  one  who  felt  he 
might  not  be  far  from  the  entrance  of  another  world,  dwelling 
in  the  secret  place  of  Him  in  whose  presence  he  hoped  soon  to 
find  fulness  of  joy  forevermore. 

On  the  same  day  they  went  about  ten  miles  up  the  mountain 
to  a  summer  camp,  stopping  for  evening  prayers  at  a  church  a 
mile  below  it.  On  either  hand  the  summits  were  craggy  and 
broken.  Isolated  cones  rose  up  around,  like  so  many  sentinels 
in  the  evening  twilight.  On  the  highest  of  these  stood  a  ruined 
castle,  and,  just  below  it,  a  chapel  hewed  out  in  the  rock,  where 
a  hermit  feeds  the  unextinguished  lamp  upon  its  altar.  The 
mother  of  Suleiman  Bey  was  there,  under  the  care  of  Mar  Shi- 
mon, during  the  absence  of  her  son  in  Gawar,  and  showed  him 
the  same  kind  attention  as  before.  Her  inquiry,  how  he  could 
leave  his  little  son,  and  come  alone  to  that  distant  land,  opened 
afresh  the  fountain  of  tears.  But  little  did  she  know  of  the 
comfort  vouchsafed  by  the  Saviour,  for  whose,  sake  he  had  left 
home  and  children.  It  was  the  Sabbath,  and  he  tells  us  that 
on  those  mountain-tops  he  enjoyed,  in  communion  with  Christ, 
the  hundred-fold  that  He  had  promised. 

Early  on  the  12th  they  began  to  climb  the  steep  winding 
path  to  the  summit,  making  many  a  halt  for  breath  in  the  long 
ascent.  On  the  first  summit  they  found  shepherds  pasturing 
their  flocks,  amid  the  verdure  and  flowers  of  early  spring. 
Seated  by  a  rill,  fresh  from  the  snows  above,  he  prescribed  for 
a  few  chronic  complaints  and  diseases  of  the  eye,  —  for  acute 
sickness  seldom  visits  so  healthful  an  abode.  Their  huts  were 
built  of  loose  stones,  and  covered  with  bushes,  that  screened 
from  the  sun,  but  could  afford  no  shelter  from  the  storm.  The 
people  were  overjoyed  to  see  them,  and  freely  opened,  their 
stores  of  sour  curd  and  liquid  butter,  laid  up  in  goat-skins  for 
winter  use.  After  a  pleasant  hour  at  this  place,  they  continued 
theii  ascent  to  the  glacier  beyond.     For  some  miles  the  mules 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  181 

made  but  a  faint  footprint  on  its  frozen  surface,  and  near  the 
highest  summit  of  the  pass  stood  a  chapel  amid  the  everlasting 
snow.  This  lofty  region  could  accommodate  the  shepherds 
scarce  a  month  in  the  year ;  but  the  little  church  might  shelter 
the  traveller  when  the  shepherds  were  far  away,  and  direct  his 
thoughts  to  God.  The  summit  had  long  receded  as  Alps  on  Alps 
arose,  and  now  the  rocky  peak  rose  some  hundred  feet  above 
the  pass.  This  is  the  loftiest  point  in  Kiirdistan,  and  is  about 
fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  though  some  report  it  an 
high  as  fifteen  thousand.  The  plain  of  Mesopotamia  is  said  to 
be  visible  in  a  clear  day.  But,  as  the  peak  then  wore  its  cap 
of  clouds,  Dr.  Grant  contented  himself  with  the  view  from  where 
he  stood ;  and  that  extended  over  the  mountain-tops  in  every 
direction,  with  no  apparent  limit  but  the  power  of  vision.  A 
little  cloud,  broken  off  from  the  mass  above  the  peak,  had  floated 
far  away  in  the  clear  sky;  and,  as  it  lay  in  calm  repose,  lighted 
up  by  the  rays  of  the  noonday  s m,  it  seemed  like  a  messenger 
from  heaven  serenely  watching  over  the  region  assigned  him  by 
the  Lord  of  angels.  But  Dr.  Grant  had  no  time  to  admire  the 
grandeur  of  the  scene ;  nor,  situated  as  he  was,  could  he  make 
observations  with  the  compass ;  and,  with  the  rest,  he  prepared 
for  the  descent.  He  had  often  found  this  more  perilous  than 
the  ascent,  and  especially  so  now,  as,  divested  of  his  cloak,  staff 
in  hand,  and  hair  sandals  on  his  feet,  he  secured  a  foot-hold,  at 
first,  only  in  the  slight  impressions  left  by  the  feet  of  the  mules 
in  the  frozen  snow.  This  passed,  his  progress  was  safer,  but  no 
less  laborious,  so  that,  at  length,  utterly  exhausted,  he  was  glad 
to  ride  long  before  any  one  else  dared  to  do  so;  and,  even  then, 
Mar  Shimon  insisted  on  his  retaining  the  saddle,  as  he  was^ 
accustomed  to  such  journeys,  while  Dr.  Grant's  limbs  we 
trembling  from  fatigue. 

Leaving  two  villages  on  their  right,  the}^  reached  Zerany,  the 
largest  in  the  district,  and  spent  the  night  in  the  outer  court  of 
the   church,  in  which  the  Patriarch   led   the  villagers  in  their 
15* 


]8l2  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

evening  prayers.  Their  supper  of  millet,  boiled  in  milk,  was 
eaten  friDm  a  large  wooden  bowl,  each  dipping  his  spoonful  in  a  ' 
dish  of  melted  butter  imbedded  in  the  middle  of  it.  Barley 
bread  was  laid  round  the  edge  of  the  goat-skin  beneath.  At 
other  times,  during  his  stay  in  the  mountains,  wheat,  barley,  rice, 
maize  or  rye,  took  the  place  of  millet,  or  were  used  for  bread ; 
and  sometimes  they  were  made  into  a  kind  of  soup.  Milk  is 
seldom  used  till  sour,  —  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  Patriarch 
Timotheus  to  the  Tartars  of  Prester  John,  —  and  butter  always 
in  a  liquid  state. 

Though  the  snow  is  here  very  deep,  and  the  winters  long,  yet 
an  inferior  gi-ape  grows  abundantly.  Apples,  pears,  &c.,  are 
more  rare  and  less  delicious  than  in  New  England. 

Next  day,  at  noon,  when  most  were  asleep.  Dr.  Grant  ven- 
tured to  make  some  entries  in  his  journal.  The  villagers  won- 
dered to  see  him  writing  backwards,  —  that  is,  from  left  to  right, 
—  and  with  a  ciuill  instead  of  a  reed.  "  Are  you  writing  down 
all  Jelu,  to  send  to  the  New  World  ?  "  asked  Priest  Zadok,  as 
he  woke  from  his  siesta,  and  looked  on  the  same  operation.  The 
doctor  took  the  hint,  and  made  briefer  memoranda,  more  pri- 
vately. The  village  priest,  and  several  bright  lads,  were  all 
animation  at  his  mention  of  a  school ;  and  the  Patriarch  woke 
up  when  the  sun  shone  round  in  his  face,  and,  as  elsewhere, 
expressed  publicly  his  approval  of  our  missionary  work. 

In  the  evening  they  rode  to  the  village  of  Mar  Ezeiya,  where 
is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  venerated 'of  their  churches; 
it  is  also,  perhaps,  the  largest.  Tradition  says  it  was  built  by 
Balak,  a  Christian  prince  of  Bagdad,  who  used  to  spend  his 
summers  here  fourteen  centuries  before.  A  large  bell  was  sus- 
pended from  a  beam  outside,  and  it  was  peculiarly  affecting  to 
the  lonely  missionary  to  hear  the  church-going  bell  echoing 
through  those  distant  glens,  and  inviting  their  inhabitants  to 
prayer.  It  was  the  hour  of  vespers  when  they  came  in  sight  of 
it,  and  the  Patriarch  at  once  dismounted,  turned  his  face  toward 


MOUNTAIN    NESTOR  lANS.  183 

ths  church,  — it  lay  towards  the  east,  —  and  went  through  his 
devotions. 

There  are  fifteen  villages  in  Jelu,  and  five  more  in  Bass. 
Dr.  Grant  found  them  exceedingly  desirous  of  a  missionary. 
They  ofi'ered  to  give  him  a  house,  if  he  would  come  and  live 
among  them.  The  habits  of  the  men,  in  spending  their  winters 
abroad,  render  them  more  intelligent  than  the  other  tribes,  and, 
therefore,  more  promising  subjects  of  missionary  efl"ort.  His 
eye,  too,  was  quick  to  discern  that  their  acquaintance  with  the 
character  and  languages  of  surrounding  countries  would  be  an 
admirable  means  of  difiusing  truth  in  the  places  they  visited, 
when  once  they  themselves  were  filled  with  its  spirit. 

Dr.  Grant  here  took  leave  of  the  Patriarch,  who  had  treated 
him  with  the  kindness  of  a  brother,  and  now  committed  him  to 
Priest  Zadok,  till  he  should  leave  the  mountains  or  return  to 
him.  In  the  latter  case,  they  intended  to  go  to  Oroomiah  to- 
gether, and  then  both  spend  the  winter  at  Ashitha  or  Lezan. 

A  ride  of  four  hours  brought  them,  on  the  15th,  to  one  of  the 
principal  villages  of  Bass.  These  lie  in  a  valley  which  unites 
with  another  from  Jelu,  and  then,  winding  to  the  south-east, 
passes  near  Ravandooz,  and  unites  with  the  Zab  below  the  coun- 
try of  the  Nestorians.  The  emir  had  been  in  the  habit  of  re- 
ceiving presents  from  the  weaker  tribes,  and  had,  just  before, 
sent  a  servant  to  Bass  to  collect  something  in  this  way.  Dis- 
pleased with  the  manner  of  his  application,  they  refused  ;  and, 
when  he  resorted  to  force,  they  killed  both  him  and  his  attend- 
ants. But  now  the  villagers,  who  were  just  leaving  the  church, 
went  in  procession  to  meet  their  guests,  and  two  lame  children 
were  brought  to  the  Patriarch's  brother,  with  their  feet  tied 
together,  that  they  might  be  cured  by  his  cutting  the  strings. 

The  day  after,  Dr.  Grant  had  some  interesting  intercourse 
with  the  chief  men,  and,  after  prescribing  for  the  sick,  departed 
for  Tehoma.  On  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  to  the  south-west 
of  the  village,  he  found  some  women  tending  their  flocks.     They 


18-4  DR.      G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

brought  him  food,  and  one  of  them  caught  a  sheep,  from  which 
she  presented  him  with  a  fine  bowl  of  milk.  As  the  Jews  in  the 
days  of  Moses,  so  the  Nestorians  now  prefer  the  butter  of  kine 
and  the  milk  of  sheep.  "  With  what  interest,"  thought  the  good 
man,  "  would  these  people  read  the  Bible,  tending  their  flock<, 
like  the  sweet  psalmist  and  patriarchs  of  old,  amid  the  ver}- 
scenery  and  customs  it  describes !  "  From  the  summit  he  de- 
scended a  ravine,  two  hours  to  the  south-west ;  and  spent  the 
night  in  a  hut  belonging  to  a  summer  encampment,  so  small 
that  he  and  the  priest  could  hardly  find  room  to  lie  down  in  it. 
Next  morning,  while  a  dozen  women  started  for  their  village, 
each  bending  under  the  burden  of  a  goat-skin  filled  with  butter 
or  sour  curd,  he  left  in  the  opposite  direction,  winding  down  a 
narrow  glen,  that  expanded  here  and  there,  so  as  to  admit  of 
culture.  In  one  of  these  he  found  a  Kurdish  hamlet.  Four 
hours'  walk  brought  him  to  Giinduktha,  a  large  village  of 
Tehoma,  where  he  lodged  in  an  upper  room  of  the  church. 
In  the  evening  he  climbed  to  the  church  of  Rabban  Fitter,  hop- 
ing to  spend  there  a  quiet  Sabbath,  in  a  purer  atmosj^here. 
Like  two  or  three  churches  in  Tyarj^  it  has  a  glebe  which  pays 
one-third  of  its  produce  to  the  church.  On  Sabbath  the  lovely 
valley  below  was  hushed  in  c{uiet ;  and,  while  the  early  dawn 
was  hailed  by  the  birds  in  the  trees  above  him,  many  of  the 
villagers  assembled  with  them  for  v.'orsliip.  lie  conversed  with 
all  who  called  during  the  day,  founding  his  remarks  on  such 
portions  of  Scripture  as  the  priests,  at  his  request,  translated 
into  their  spoken  language.  Here  he  became  acquainted  with 
Kasha  Gruwergis  (George),  next  to  Kasha  Auraham  the  most 
learned  of  their  ecclesiastics. 

On  Monday,  he  went  a  mile  further,  to  Tehoma  Gawain, 
where  he  translated  and  expounded  the  Bible,  as  before,  to  a 
much  larger  congregation.  At  first  they  interrupted  him  by 
their  conversation,  but  became  deeply  interested  as  he  proceed- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  185 

ed,  expressing  surprise  that  their  priests  had  never  told  them 
these  things  before. 

Dr.  Grant  estimated  the  population  of  the  six  villages  of  Teho- 
ma  at  ten  thousand.  But  Dr.  Smith  set  it  down  afterwai*ds,  from 
more  reliable  data,  at  five  thousand,  which  is  probably  not  far 
from  the  truth.  The  district  is  more  pleasant  and  fertile  than  the 
rest,  but  the  extensive  cultivation  of  rice  renders  it  subject  to 
fevers,  and  it  is  more  exposed  to  the  Kurds  than  either  Tyary 
or  Jelu.  In  the  evening,  another  mile  brought  him  to  Birijai, 
where  an  arzaleh,  some  twelve  feet  high,  was  assigned  to  him  and 
his  companion.  Climbing  up  by  a  rickety  ladder,  they  found  it 
without  railing,  and  just  large  enough  for  both  to  lie  down.  As 
it  was  his  first  trial  of  these  long-legged  bedsteads,  the  priest 
was  very  anxious  for  his  safety,  and  roused  him  from  sleep  in 
tying  his  feet  to  the  post  to  prevent  him  from  falling  on  the  rocks 
below.  At  the  doctor's  earnest  remonstrance,  he  set  him  free ; 
but  the  idea  of  dangling  from  such  a  bedstead  by  the  feet  was 
so  ridiculous,  that  it  was  long  ere  he  again  composed  himself  to 
sleep.  As  he  lay  there,  he  says :  "  I  looked  round  on  the 
sleeping  villagers,  —  some  at  a  similar  elevation,  and  others  on 
the  pebbles  of  the  torrent  below.  I  thought  of  home,  and  the 
friends  of  other  days.  But,  pilgrim  as  I  was,  and  not  knowing 
the  things  that  would  befall  me,  I  felt  a  sweet  assurance  that  I 
was  not  alone ;  and,  committing  my  all  to  the  Shepherd  of  Israel, 
I  was  soon  lulled  to  rest  by  the  music  of  the  dashing  waters." 

Four  hours  of  weary  walking  along  the  ledges  of  the  moun- 
tain side  brought  him  to  the  nearest  village  in  Tyary,  on  the 
20th.  An  open  war,  long  carried  on,  between  Tehoma  and  that 
tribe,  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  threatened  irruption  of  the 
Bey  of  Ravandooz  ;  but,  though  war  had  ceased,  the  old  grudge 
still  remained.  He  was  now  in  the  narrow  but  fruitful  glen  of 
Salaberka,  and  was  hospitably  entertained  by  Malek  Berkhu. 
Unknown  to  him  at  the  time,  he  now  had  another  narrow 
escape.     A  party  of  Kurds  tried  to  intercept  him  on  the  way, 


18G  DR.    GRANT     AND     THE 

but,  finding  he  had  passed,  all  turned  back,  save  one,  who  had 
the  hardihood  to  go  and  beg  medicine  from  the  very  man  he 
had  intended  to  destroy,  —  nor  did  he  beg  in  vain. 

The  only  priest  in  the  district  who  could  read  intelligently 
showed  him  a  piece  of  an  earthen  vase  that  had  been  dug  up 
near  the  house,  and  contained  a  substance  like  cinereous  bones. 
But  a  more  interesting  discovery  was  made  while  they  were 
talking  about  this ;  it  was  the  copper  bust  of  a  female,  with  a 
wreath  around  her  brow.  The  features  were  well  proportioned, 
but,  though  protected  from  the  weather  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock, 
were  thickly  oxidized.  They  at  once  pronounced  it  an  idol, 
and  each  sought  the  privilege  of  stamping  it  under  foot.  The 
irift  of  a  cotton  handkerchief  saved  it  from  destruction  ;  but  he 
had  to  assure  them  he  wanted  it  only  for  a  curiosity,  and  not  to 
worship.  He  said  he  would  send  it  to  the  New  World,  as  one  of 
the  idols  of  their  ancestors.  "  No,  no,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  we  are 
Beni  Israel;  therefore,  our  ancestors  were  not  idolaters."  Did  the 
Ninevitish  sepulchres  extend  so  far  beyond  Malthaiyah  and  Ba- 
vian  ?  In  the  afternoon  he  continued  down  the  valley,  through 
a  succession  of  houses  and  fertile  gardens  ;  the  vine  hung  over 
the  wall ;  the  fig  and  pomegranate  grew  on  the  terraces ;  but 
"  the  time  of  figs  was  not  yet,"  and  a  few  plums  and  white  mul- 
berries w^ere  the  only  fruit  he  saw.  Apples,  too,  were  given 
him,  but  they  were  too  green  for  use. 

On  his  right,  a  path  led  up  to  Bae  Bawola.  On  his  left, 
across  the  stream,  a  steep  mountain  ridge  separated  the  Nesto- 
rians  from  the  Kurds.  Priest  Zadok  was  now  so  excessively 
fatigued  that  he  often  sat  down,  and  at  length  declared  he  would 
go  no  further.  He  said  he  was  sick.  Others  Avhispered  he  had 
drunk  too  much  wine  with  the  Malek.  Says  Dr.  Grant :  "  This 
was  the  first  wine  I  had  seen  in  the  mountains,  but  it  did  not 
prove  the  last.  I  was  pained  to  find  that,  thougK  not  so  plenty 
as  on  the  plain,  yet  the  clergy  made  too  free  with  it,  and  when 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  187 

I  expostulated  justified  themselves  on  the  ground  that  they  did 
no  injury,  but  were  only  more  pleasant,  under  its  influence." 

At  sunset  they  stopped  near  a  cluster  of  houses,  where  the 
people  were  very  kind.  They  slept  on  hurdles  laid  on  the 
smooth  stones  of  the  stream,  and  the  best  of  them  were  given  up 
to  their  guests.  These  slept  all  the  sounder  for  their  fatigue, 
and  rose  with  the  sun  to  a  yet  more  painful  walk,  by  which 
Dr.  Grant  was  quite  exhausted  before  night.  At  a  mountain 
hamlet,  where  they  stopped  to  rest,  the  village  jDriest  kindly 
sat  down  and  rubbed  his  limbs,  remarking  that  he  was  not 
learned  in  climbing  their  rocks.  Priest  Zadok  complained  bit- 
terly, and  said  nothing  would  induce  him  to  endure  the  heat  and 
fatigue,  but  regard  to  the  doctor  and  the  cause  in  which  he  la- 
bored. Dr.  Grant  adds  :  "  It  v/as  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  I  felt 
Immbled  by  my  unworthiness  to  suffer  for  his  sake."  Before 
night  they  reached  Lezan,  the  first  village  he  entered  in  the 
mountains  two  years  before,  and  he  at  once  found  himself  among 
old  friends ;  but,  owing  to  his  Frank  dress,  he  was  scarcely 
recognized. 

It  was  late  next  morning  before  the  sun  looked  over  the  moun- 
tains on  his  bed  by  the  Zab,  and  he  set  out  at  once  to  Ashitha, 
in  search  of  a  purer  atmosphere.  But  he  was  so  beset  on  all 
sides  for  medicine  that  it  was  afternoon  ere  he  finally  left  the 
village.  The  Malek,  absent  on  his  former  visit,  insisted  now  on 
his  stopping  under  his  roof;  and  even  made  him  an  offer  of  a 
house  to  live  in,  if  he  would  remain.  Passing  through  Minya- 
nish,  the  residence  of  the  young  man  whose  restoration  to  sight 
had  secured  his  favorable  reception  at  the  first,  he  was  cheered 
to  meet  him  again,  with  another  present  of  honey  for  his 
benefactor.  Says  Dr.  Grant :  "  Such  cases  encourage  the  mis- 
sionary to  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 
But  I  cannot  speak  of  trials,  while  an  open  door  is  given  me  to 
speak  to  the  people  with  all  fidelity." 

He  was-welcomed  to  the  house  of  Kasha  Auraham,  in  Ashi- 


188  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  n  E 

tlia,  about  noon  on  the  23d,  whom  he  found  at  his  usual  em- 
ployment. Here  he  remained  for  nearly  a  month,  spending  the 
days  in  intercourse  with  the  people,  and  the  nights  on  the  roof, 
where  he  also  dined,  and  had  his  evening  meetings.  On  the 
Sabbath,  forty  or  fifty  assembled,  to  listen  to  such  expositions  of 
scripture  as  seemed  adapted  to  their  case ;  "  for,"  says  he,  very 
modestly,  "  it  was  the  only  kind  of  instruction  for  which  I  felt 
qualified.  Never  was  I  more  impressed  with  their  perishing 
condition.  With  few  exceptions,  even  the  clergy  are  exceed- 
ingly ignorant ;  and  how  can  they  enlighten  others  ?  All  need  to 
be  taught  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God.  But,  if  their 
ignorance  is  affecting,  their  docility  is  exceedingly  encouraging. 
Even  the  priests  frankly  confessed  that  they  were  blind  leaders 
of  the  blind.  Their  consciences  responded  when  their  sins  were  set 
before  them,  especially  when  I  urged  that  their  departure  from 
God  was  the  occasion  of  their  troubles  from  the  Kurds,  which  they 
feared  would  soon  be  greater.  I  showed  that  God  had  chastised 
them  through  their  enemies,  thus  far,  gently ;  but  I  feared  that 
he  would  do  it  more  severely,  even  to  the  loss  of  their  inde- 
pendence, unless  they  repented.  They  confessed  it  was  even 
so,  for  a  score  of  men  from  the  village  had  already  fallen, —  oth- 
ers were  in  captivity.  More  than  seven  thousand  of  their  sheep 
had  been  driven  away,  and  now  the  locusts  had  come  up  in 
swarms  to  snatch  their  bread  from  their  very  mouths. 

"  Some  regarded  me  as  a  spy  of  the  Turks,  and  others  as  in  the 
employ  of  the  emir.  But  I  endeavored,  by  well-doing,  to  secure 
their  confidence,  since,  under  God,  it  was  our  only  protection  in 
the  prospect  of  political  commotion.  And,  as  the  sick  recovered 
under  my  hands,  confidence  was  restored.  Their  returning 
health  testified  to  the  benevolence  of  my  mission,  and  the 
report  was  wafted  on  every  breeze."  In  one  day  he  removed 
cataracts  from  the  eyes  of  no  less  than  seven  persons,  most  of 
whom  were  benefited  by  the  operation.  Some  were  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  thus  he  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  all  of  Christ 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  189 

and  his  salvation.  Two  young  men  were  brought  to  him  dan- 
gerously wounded,  and  senseless,  —  one  by  falling  down  a 
precipice,  the  other  by  the  stroke  of  a  stone,  started  by  his 
!&heep  above  him  on  the  mountain  side,  —  but  both  recovered,  to 
the  surprise  of  their  delighted  friends. 

Ashitha  is  the  largest  and  one  of  the  most  healthy  of  their 
villages.  But  it  is  not  central.  The  winters  arc  severe,  and 
fuel  is  scarce.  The  summer,  however,  is  delightful,  and  snow 
remains,  through  the  whole  of  it,  within  half  an  hour's  walk. 
The  gardens  and  poplars,  interspersed  with  walnut  and  other 
trees,  give  a  pleasing  aspect  to  the  valley.  The  grape  is  culti- 
vated, but  few  fruits  come  to  perfection.  Insects  are  not  so 
annoying  as  elsewhere.  The  people  are  active,  but  rougher  and 
more  rude  than  in  other  places.  Yet  all  desired  Dr.  Grant 
to  reside  among  them,  though  he  observed,  with  pain,  that  tem- 
poral benefits  w'ere  a  more  prominent  reason  for  it,  in  their 
minds,  than  spiritual. 

Priest  Zadok  and  others  often  broke  their  weekly  fast,  but 
all  observed  the  great  fast  before  Fiaster  w^ith  much  strictness. 
The  brother  of  the  Patriarch  defended  Dr.  Grant's  non-observ- 
ance of  such  things,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  bound  by 
the  councils  that  had  imposed  the  burden  on  them. 

The  last  Sabbath  he  spent  in  Ashitha,  the  village  met  to  con- 
sult on  an  invasion  of  Berwer,  where  two  Nestorians  had 
recently  been  murdered.  Some  of  the  more  aged  advised  for- 
bearance. But  Zadok  and  Priest  Abraham  cried,  "  To  arms!" 
at  once.  The  former  said,  they  were  not  men,  but  women,  if 
they  submitted  to  such  insults.  The  latter  offered  to  lead  them 
at  once  to  battle.  "  What !  "  said  Dr.  Grant,  "  on  the  Sabbath  ? " 
"  We  will  fight,"  said  the  other,  "  in  the  night,  after  the  Sab- 
bath, but  must  set  out  now,  ere  the  people  disperse."  Dr.  Grant 
replied  that  he  could  not  interfere  in  a  question  of  war  or 
peace,  but  asked  them  whether  they  could  hope  for  the  blessing 
of  God  on  the  desecration  of  his  holy  day,  and  whether  they 
16 


1  UO  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

had  not  better  spend  it  in  prayer  for  his  guidance.  They  sepa 
rated,  after  a  spirited  discussion,  in  which  he  took  no  further 
part,  and  the  invasion  was  postponed  ;  —  though,  after  he  left 
the  mountains,  several  villages  united  together  to  attack  the 
Kiirds,  and  drove  off  some  thousands  of  sheep,  in  retaliation  for 
their  previous  losses. 

Dr.  Grant  had  sent  a  messenger  to  Mosul  to  learn  whether 
liis  associates  had  arrived ;  and,  after  waiting  a  week  beyond 
the  time  set  for  his  return,  v/ent  to  Minyanish  on  the  16th  of 
August.  Next  morning  brought  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell,  and  the  sickness  of  the  survivors.  He 
started  at  once  for  Lezan,  intending  to  fly  to  their  relief  via 
A  madia  ;  but  the  chief  of  Berwer,  afraid  of  his  influence  at  Mosul 
in  behalf  of  the  Nestorians,  had  given  orders  not  to  suffer  him  to 
pass.  He  spent  the  18th  in  getting  ready  to  leave,  and  giving 
parting  counsels  to  the  people.  At  this  juncture  the  Patriarch 
summoned  the  Nestorians  to  arms  against  a  combined  force  of 
Kurds  and  Turks  from  the  north,  and  his  brother  was  now 
anxious  to  detain  him  as  a  counsellor  ;  but  this  only  strength- 
ened his  purpose  to  depart. 

On  the  19th  he  thus  wrote  to  Dr.  Wright :  "  In  the  removal 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  we  are  admonished  that  the  Lord 
would  try,  as  by  fire,  those  who  may  enter  this  jDart  of  the  field. 
Truly,  most  trying  must  be  the  situation  of  dear  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hinsdale,  so  bereaved,  and  both  upon  a  sick  bed.  I  shall  spare 
no  effort  to  reach  them  as  soon  as  possible.  Although  the  way 
is  not  free  from  danger,  yet  their  situation  calls  me  to  meet 
whatever  perils  may  exist.  Were  it  not  for  their  need  of  me,  I 
should  be  tempted  to  come  to  Oroomiah :  for  to  remain  with  the 
Patriarch  might  be  to  enlist  as  a  military  surgeon,  an  honor  to 
which  I  do  not  aspire. 

"  The  situation  of  the  Nestorians  is  likely  to  become  a  trying 
cue,  if  the  Turks,  as  is  probable,  unite  with  the  Kurds  against 
them.     They  should  not  be  forgotten  in  our  prayers.     I  feel  the 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  191 

most  consoling  confidence  that  the  Lord  will  overrule  all  for 
good,  and  his  kingdom  speedily  be  built  up.  How  delightful  it 
will  be  to  hear  the  songs  of  praise,  the  offerings  of  pure  hearts, 
echoing  through  these  vales,  till 

'  The  mountain-tops  shall  catch  the  fiov/ing  joy, 
And  one  glad  song  each  heart  and  tongue  employ  '  ! 

"  I  do  not  think  any  temporary  disturbance  here  ought  to 
deter  others  from  joining  us.  By  the  time  they  acquire  the 
language,  they  will,  I  doubt  not,  find  enough  to  do.  There  is  a 
wide  and  interesting  field  for  preaching  now;  and  the  trials 
through  which  this  people  are  likely  to  pass  may  incline  them 
more  readily  to  turn  to  the  Lord.  I  tell  them  it  is  their  sins 
that  provoke  these  chastisements,  and  they  are  ready  to  confess 
that  it  is  even  so.  I  hope  I  may  have  been  the  means  of  call- 
ing some  attention  to  this  point,  and  the  leaven  may  spread  after 
I  am  gone.  The  Lord  in  mercy  watch  over  this  dear  people, 
and  bless  us  all  !  " 

It  may  give  some  idea  of  the  difficulty  of  communication  in 
the  mountains  to  state  that  this  letter,  written  in  Lezan,  August 
19,  1811,  was  not  received  in  Oroomiah  till  April  10,  1842.  At 
the  same  time  he  sent  a  note,  written  in  pencil,  to  Mr.  Stocking, 
in  which  he  says,  "  I  have  nothing  to  add  further  than  to  com- 
mend you  ail,  and  myself,  once  more  to  our  covenant  Grod.  Our 
bereavement  may  seriously  aifect  our  plans ;  but  the  cause  is 
God's,  and  he  will  take  care  of  it.  In  him  is  my  hope,  and  I 
feel  sure  my  confidence  is  not  misplaced.  You  will  not  forget 
us  in  your  prayers." 

That  very  day.  Priest  Zadok  procured  ten  men  to  escort  him, 
by  night,  across  the  district  of  Berwer.  He  writes  :  "  The  sun 
was  sinking  behind  the  mountains  as  I  bade  the  people  flirewell, 
and  I  rode  on  silent  and  sad,  till  roused  by  my  companions 
saying,  as  they  pointed  to  the  valley  behind  us,  '  Is  it  not  beau- 
tiful ?  '     It  was  tinged  with  the  sombre  hues  of  twilight,  and 


1132  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

was  in  such  harmony  with  my  feelings  that  I  could  scarce  refrain 
from  tears.  My  thoughts  were  full  of  the  past,  present  and 
future,  of  this  beloved  people.  As  we  climbed  the  mountain, 
the  stars  shone  out  as  they  shine  only  in  the  East,  and  we  seemed 
toilinty  to  reach  their  shininor  orbs.  The  ascent  became  more 
difficult,  till  I  was  obliged  to  walk,  and  then  draw  myself  up  by 
taking  hold  of  the  projections  of  the  rocks.  My  guard,  now, 
after  whispering  together,  refused  to  go  on  unless  I  doubled 
their  reward.  I  told  them  I  was  entirely  in  their  power,  —  they 
were  ten,  and  I  alone,  —  and,  if  they  thought  fit  to  rob  and  kill 
me,  I  should  make  no  resistance ;  but  I  would  not  accede  to 
their  demands.  If  they  went  on  as  they  had  agreed,  their  pres- 
ent, at  the  end  of  the  journey,  would  be  proportioned  to  their 
good  behavior;  but,  if  that  did  not  suit  them,  they  might 
return  to  their  village." 

Who  does  not  admire  this  far-seeing  conduct  of  the  lonely 
missionary,  boldly  facing  personal  danger  rather  than  afford  a 
precedent  for  similar  extortion  in  the  future  ?  He  knew  the 
character  of  the  people,  whom  he  loved  for  Jesus'  sake ;  and, 
though  he  might  yield  somewhat  to  Kurds  at  a  distance,  yet  he 
would  not  purchase  his  own  safety  by  exposing  his  associates  to 
the  like  treatment,  in  time  to  come,  from  the  Nestorians  them- 
selves. Awed  by  his  calm  firmness,  his  escort  declared  them- 
selves ready  to  serve  him  at  the  peril  of  their  lives ;  and  refused 
to  receive  the  customary  present,  at  the  end  of  the  journey, 
unless  he  should  give  it  of  his  own  free-will.  Before  reaching 
the  summit,  one  gave  out,  exhausted,  and  they  left  him  with 
gome  shepherds  on  the  mountain;  soon  another  followed  his 
example,  leaving  only  eight  for  the  rest  of  the  way. 

The  most  toilsome  part  of  the  road  was  now  past ;  next  came 
the  dangerous.  He  dared  not  pass  through  the  Nestorian  vil- 
lages of  Berwer,  lest  the  chief  should  punish  them  for  letting  him 
pass.  They  now  moved  in  single  file,  with  the  utmost  silence,  — 
halting  occasionally,  a-id  reconnoitring,  to  see  that  they  were 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  193 

not  observed.  The  fires  of  the  shepherds  enabled  them  (o  avoid 
their  camps  ;  but  two  Kurdish  villages  lay  directly  in  the  road, 
and  they  had  to  pass  them  with  great  caution.  Taking  a  circuit 
round,  they  passed  the  first  in  safety.  At  tlic  next  a  castle 
overlooked  the  road,  and  the  v/atch-cry  of  the  sentinels  was 
audible  long  before  they  reached  it.  But  his  guide^.^  knew  every 
pass ;  and,  in  breathless  silence,  they  led  him  through  a  ravine, 
where  he  heard  the  watch-cry  close  on  the  right,  and  soon  after 
behind  him.  The  prospect  now  brightened,  though  the  danger 
was  not  yet  past.  To  cross  the  creek  by  the  usual  bridge  was 
not  deemed  prudent,  and,  with  difficulty,  they  forded  it  below. 
On  emerging  from  the  thickets  on  the  other  side,  some  of  the 
party  were  missing.  They  neither  dared  to  call  aloud  nor  sep- 
arate in  search  of  them ;  but  soon  all  met  again,  and  moved  on, 
slowly  and  cautiously,  as  before.  They  often  felt  the  want  of 
moonlight,  and  yet  rejoiced  there  was  none ;  for  in  darkness  was 
their  safety.  Dr.  Grant  felt  the  hands  of  his  watch  :  it  was  one 
o'clock.  "  Time  enough,  but  none  to  spare,"  whispered  the 
guides;  and  on  they  wandered,  through  thorns  and  over  rocks. 
Having  regained  the  path,  they  ate  a  morsel  of  bread,  drank  at 
a  running  stream,  and  hastened  forward.  Sunrise  found  them 
on  the  mountain-summit,  some  three  miles  from  Amadia.  The 
Nestorians  dared  not  go  further,  but  kissed  his  hand  at  parting, 
and  of  their  own  accord  offered  to  remain  where  they  were,  and 
allow  no  Kurds  to  approach  from  that  quarter  till  he  was  safe 
in  town.  They  then  passed  the  day  concealed  among  the  rocks, 
and  retraced  their  steps  in  safety  on  the  following  niglit. 

With  his  baggage  on  the  back  of  the  Kurd  who  had  brought 
the  letter  from  Mosul,  Dr.  Grant  descended  towards  the  town. 
Half-way  down,  two  armed  Kurds  started  from  behind  a  rock, 
and  attempted  to  secure  the  baggage.  Both  Dr.  Grant  and  his 
attendant  were  unarmed ;  and  a  long  dispute  in  Kurdish  ensued, 
of  which  Dr.  Grant  could  only  understand  the  sign  to  deliver  up 
his  eftectb.  At  length,  on  pointing  toward  the  place  where  the 
13* 


101  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     NESTORIANS. 

Nestorlaiis  were  concealed  (they  were  hidden  by  the  inequality 
or  the  ground),  he  was  suffered  to  proceed,  and  soon  entered  the 
gate  of  the  fortress  with  a  grateful  heart.  The  governor  re- 
membered his  former  visit,  and  treated  him  with  much  kindness ; 
but  he  left  the  same  afternoon,  and  next  day  reached  the  Jewish 
village  of  Gunduk,  where  he  spent  the  Sabbath. 

On  the  24th  he  breakfasted  in  the  large  Yezidee  village  of 
Hattara,  ravaged  by  the  Ravandooz  chief  seven  years  before. 
He  found  it  now  in  great  fear  from  the  Arabs,  who  had  overrun 
the  region,  and  were  now  approaching  the  place.  Terrified  for 
themselves,  the  villagers  could  spare  no  guard  for  him.  But  he 
would  not  turn  back  so  near  Mosul ;  and,  finding  three  soldiers  on 
their  way  there,  he  went  on  in  their  company.  By  making  a  de- 
tour they  avoided  the  Arabs,  who  had  taken  the  villages  on  the 
direct  road.  At  one  time  a  cloud  of  dust  led  them  to  fear  they 
had  fallen  into  their  hands ;  but  it  proved  only  some  fellahin 
(peasants)  fleeing  with  their  flocks  ;  and  he  rode  into  Mosul  on  a 
horse  lent  him  by  the  head  man  of  a  village,  in  return  for  his 
prescriptions.  Arrived  there,  he  writes  :  "It  seems  as  if  the 
good  hand  of  the  Lord  had  been  with  me  all  the  way ;  for,  had 
I  been  later,  or  pursued  a  difi"erent  route,  I  had  not  been  able  to 
enter  the  mountains  this  year.  He  gave  me  favor  with  the 
Patriarch  and  people,  then  led  me  out  of  the  mountains  just  as 
they  became  the  theatre  of  war,  and  now  brings  me  to  the  rescue 
of  my  surviving  associate,  when,  owing  to  a  dangerous  relapse, 
he  seemed  about  to  follow  his  companion  to  the  grave." 


CHAPTER     XI. 

JOURNEY    OF    MESSES.    HINSDALE    AND     MITCHELL DIARBEKR — LETTER   OF 

MR.    MITCHELL HIS    SICKNESS    AND    DEATH SICKNESS    OF    MRS.    MITCH- 
ELL  ARAB    INHUJ\LVNITY HER     DEATH SICKNESS     OF     MR.    AND    MRS. 

HINSDALE HEAT  OF    MOSUL JACOBITES MISSIONARY  PROVIDENCE 

jE^YS MOHAMMED    PASHA TURKISH    OPPRESSION  —  LETTERS    OF    MONS. 

BOTTA TOUR  AMONG  MOUNTAINS    NEAR  MOSUL MICHA ATHANASIUS, 

BISHOP    OF    MALABAR. 

In  order  to  preserve  the  narrative  of  Dr.  Grant  unbroken, 
nothing  has  yet  been  said  of  the  journey  of  Messrs.  Hinsdale  and 
Mitchell.  Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  for  a  moment  to  them. 
We  have  already  seen  them  sail  from  Boston,  January  18th. 
A  rouo-h  passage  of  forty-one  days  brought  them  to  Smyrna, 
where  they  embarked  immediately  in  an  Austrian  steamer,  for 
Beirut,  reaching  that  port  on  tfee  12th  of  March.  Here  they 
were  detained,  from  various  causes,  till  April  24th,  when,  with 
the  Bev.  Mr.  Beadle  and  wife,  they  sailed  in  an  Austrian  mer- 
chantman for  Iseanderun.  Though  the  voyage  is  often  per- 
formed in  a  day,  contrary  winds  protracted  theirs  till  the  30th. 
On  the  4th  of  May,  they  left  Iseanderun,  by  way  of  Antioch, 
for  Aleppo,  and  arrived  there  on  the  8th.  Here  Mr.  Beadle 
remained  to  commence  a  new  station,  leaving  them  to  go  on, to 
Mosul  alone. 

A  caravan  had  just  left  for  that  place  before  their  arrival,  and 
no  other  would  start  for  some  time  to  come.  Another  inter- 
preter too  was  to  be  obtained,  in  place  of  Mr.  Beadle,  who, had 
hitherto  acted  in  that  capacity  ;  and,  after  a  long  search,  they 
secured  the  company  of  Mr.  Kotschy,  a  German  naturalist,  who, 


196  D  K  .     G  11  A  N 


A  N  D     THE 


to  a  good  knowledge  of  medicine,  added  the  cxj^erience  of  seven 
years'  journeying  in  xifrica  and  v*'estern  Asia.  After  all  else 
was  ready,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  seized  with  intermittent  fever,  and 
this  detained  them  a  week  longer,  so  that  they  did  not  leave  till 
the  28th.  This  was  perilously  late  in  the  season  for  such  a 
journey.  Still,  had  they  pressed  on  with  the  usual  speed,  all 
might  have  been  well.  But,  unhappily,  green  grass  was  abun- 
dant, and  the  muleteers  loitered  along  as  suited  their  own  conve- 
nience ;  and,  once  on  the  road,  the  company  were  entirely  at  their 
mercy.  Still,  the  journey  was  both  pleasant  and  prosperous,  as 
far  as  Diarbekr,  which  they  reached  on  the  12tli  of  June. 

On  the  14th,  Mr.  Mitchell  wrote  to  Mr.  Beadle,  making 
grateful  mention  of  the  goodness  of  God  up  to  that  time,  and 
giving  a  pleasant  description  of  their  encampment,  in  a  grove 
of  willows,  by  two  streams  of  pure  water,  an  hour  north-w^est  of 
the  city.  He  mentions  ice  as  so  plenty  in  the  bazaar  that  two 
cents  procured  as  much  as  a  man  could  carry ;  and  describes  the 
company  as  not  only  in  better  health  than  when  they  left  Aleppo, 
but  also  refreshed  by  rest  for  the  fatigues  yet  before  them. 
Speaking  of  these  as  though  with  a  presentiment  of  what  was 
before  him,  he  says  :  "What  the  result  will  be  remains  to  be 
told.  It  'is  pleasant  to  reflect  that  God  will  order  all  things  con- 
cerning us  in  infinite  wisdom  and  benevolence;  and  I  trust  we 
shall  all  be  willing  to  abide  by  the  allotments  of  his  Providence. 
I?L  our  difficulties  and  dangers,  I  loce  to  see  God  on  the  throne, 
doing  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will  ;  and,  whatever 
he  the  result  respecting  us.  He  loill  not  allow  the  interests  of  his 
gloi'ious  kingdom  to  suffer  hij  our  trials. "" 

Could  his  feelings  have  been  more  appropriate  to  his  situa- 
tio]i,  had  he  known  all  that  was  before  him  ?  He  knows  not ; 
but  God,  who  orders  the  steps  of  the  good  man,  is  preparing  him 
for  what  iJe  sees  awaiting  him.  Is  there  one  of  the  redeemed, 
who  looks  back  on  what  we  call  his  sudden  departure,  who  does 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR  lANS.  197" 

not  find  everything  made  ready  for  it  by  his  covenant  God  as 
he  could  never  have  prepared  it  himself?  " 

Biarbekr  was  the  birth-place  of  the  mother  of  Mar  Ephraim. 
Its  lava  walls,  built  by  the  Emperor  Constantius,  have  seventy- 
two  towers  ;  and  its  large  church,  now  a  mosque,  was  founded 
at  first  by  order  of  Heraclius,  629  a.  d.,  and  then,  after  being 
burned,  rebuilt  again  in  848.  In  869,  in  the  short  space  of 
three  months,  the  city  is  said  to  have  lost  thirty-five  thousand 
inhabitants  by  the  plague.  Its  population  now  is  said  to  amount 
to  eight  thousand  houses,  fifteen  hundred  Armenian  and  sixty- 
three  hundred  Mohammedans.  It  is  the  ancient  Amida,  and, 
according  to  Pococke,  the  Dorbeta  of  Pliny,  though  others 
affirm  it  is  the  Tigranocerta  of  Lucullus.  The  Turks  call  it 
Kara  Amid. 

The  missionaries  left  on  the  14th,  and  reached  Mardin  in  five 
days.  While  Mr.  Hinsdale  and  Mr.  Kotschy  went  up  to  the  town 
to  make  some  provision  for  the  rest  of  the  journey,  Mr.  Mitchell 
kept  on  with  the  caravan  to  the  village  of  Golek,  on  the  plain 
below.  Here  aviolent  rain-storm  came  up  ;  and,  in  his  efforts 
to  keep  the  tent  from  being  blown  down,  he  was  thoroughly  wet 
and  chilled.  On  the  next  day  (Sabbath)  the  ague  returned,  and 
again  on  Monday,  though  with  less  violence  than  before.  This 
was  the  last  attack  of  that  disease,  and  after  it  he  felt  well  and 
ate  heartily. 

On  Monday,  the  23d,  they  rode  seven  hours  to  Haznaur,  and 
Mr.  Mitchell,  though  he  spoke  of  feeling  unwell,  seemed  cheer- 
ful, and  had  a  refreshing  sleep  in  the  afternoon.  Next  day, 
starting  at  a  quarter  before  three  a.  m..  they  rode  the  same  dis- 
tance, to  Chulagha.  He  complained  of  the  oppressive  heat,  and 
seemed  quite  fatigued  during  the  latter  part  of  the  ride,  but  not 
much  more  than  the  rest.  They  had  designed  going  by  Sinjar ; 
but,  as  one  stage  on  that  route  would  keep  them  in  the  saddle 
nearly  twen^'y  hours,  they  resolved  to  go  round  by  Jezira. 

On  Wednesday  they  rested  till  evening.     Mr.  Mitchcl!  wont 


198  DIl.     GRANT     AND     THE 

out  during  a  sirocco,  in  the  afternoon,  and  came  back  com- 
plaining that  he  could  not  see  distinctly.  An  emetic  relieved 
him  somewhat,  and  in  the  evening  he  was  so  anxious  to  go 
on,  that  they  started  at  seven  p.  m.,  and  rode  six  hours. 
He  seemed  much  refreshed  by  the  ride,  and  retired  with  the 
rest.  But,  ill  the  morning,  Mr.  Hinsdale  found  him  ready 
dressed  for  the  journey,  and  evidently  deranged.  Finding  the 
water  they  had  stojDped  at  in  the  dark  a  mere  pool,  and  unfit  for 
use,  they  were  compelled  to  remove  an  hour  farther  on,  to  the 
village  of  Mushtafia,  a  man  walking  on  each  side  of  Mr.  Mitch- 
ell to  support  him  in  the  saddle.  A  servant,  sent  on  before,  had 
secured  the  best  room  in  the  village  ;  and  in  that  he  was  laid, 
but  evidently  ftist  sinking.  Mr.  Kotschy  bled  him,  but  partial 
success  was  secured  only  by  rubbing  and  washing  the  arm. 
Other  remedies  proved  equally  vain.  His  feet  were  cold,  and 
a  clammy  sweat  covered  his  whole  body.  He  seemed  much 
troubled  at  some  great  obstacle  defeating  all  his  efforts  to  do 
good  at  the  very  moment  of  success  ;  and  thus  he  sank,  like  a 
flower  withering  in  the  sun,  till,  near  two  o'clock  on  Sabbath 
morning,  June  27th,  he  ceased  to  breathe.  No  struggle  indi- 
cated the  moment  he  exchanged  that  Arab  hut  for  a  mansion 
above.  The  stricken  survivors  could  hardly  believe  that  he  was 
gone.  The  stroke  was  so  sudden,  it  seemed  a  dream.  But  it 
was  too  true ;  and,  in  the  stillness  of  that  Sabbath  morning,  they 
felt  as  if  standing  on  the  borders  of  another  world,  amid  the 
silent  movements  of  invisible  spirits,  ministering  to  the  heirs  of 
salvation.  They  were  recalled  to  the  sadness  of  their  situation 
by  the  Kurdish  villagers  refusing  to  allow  the  Christian  to  be 
buried  in  their  grave-yard  ;  and  they  resolved  to  carry  the 
remains  seven  or  eight  miles,  to  a  Jacobite  village. 

The  villagers  would  not  touch  the  body,  lest  they  should  be 
polluted.  The  survivors  were  too  exhausted  to  carry  it  them- 
selves. So,  fastening  it  on  a  horse  as  best  they  might,  the  sad 
procession  noved    to  Telabel,  about  five  hours    from  Jezira. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  199 

Here  a  grcave  was  dug  in  the  village  cemetery.  Green  branches 
were  strewed  on  the  bottom,  flat  stones  were  set  on  their  edges 
round  about,  and  the  body  was  laid  between  them ;  for  coffin  there 
was  not  in  all  the  region.  Other  flat  stones  were  laid  above  it. 
Straw  was  thrown  in  to  fill  up  the  crevices,  and  the  earth  was 
replaced  over  all.  Mr.  Hinsdale  commended  the  bereaved  one 
to  the  widow's  God,  praying  that  He  who  appointed  the  trial 
would  strengthen  her  to  bear  it,  and  Himself  be  to  her  the  God 
of  all  consolation.  Two  rude  stones  were  set  up  to  mark  the 
spot,  and  the  sorrowing  band  returned  to  their  desolate  room  at 
Mushtafia. 

-  Mrs.  Mitchell  seemed  wonderfully  sustained  in  that  hour  oP 
trial;  but  next  morning,  when  other  hands  assisted  her  on 
horse-back,  grief  could  no  longer  be  restrained.  Who  can 
fathom  its  anguish,  far  from  the  friends  that  would  have  loved 
to  comfort,  and  with  none  to  look  forward  to  in  that  unknown 
home,  among  strangers  ?  None  but  He  of  whom  it  is  written 
"  In  all  their  affliction  He  is  afliicted ;  "  and  He  was  with  her. 

Eight  and  a  half  hours  brought  them  in  sight  of  the  Tigris,  at 
Beshabor.  The  next  day  was  spent  in  crossing  on  rafts  sup- 
ported by  inflated  goat-skins;  and  on  the  30th  they  rode  six 
and  a  half  hours,  to  Amelka,  a  Yezidee  village.  Next  morning 
Mrs.  Mitchell  was  so  ill,  they  had  to  stop,  after  only  one  hour's 
ride,  at  Bowerea.  There,  for  four  days,  she  lay  in  one  of  its 
mud-hovels^among  Arabs  so  rude  they  could  not  be  kept  out 
of  the  sick-room ;  and  in  it  laid  hands  on  whatever  they  fan- 
cied, before  the  very  eyes  of  those  who  conld  not  resist  them. 
Even  the  women  cut  oif  the  hooks-and-eyes  from  the  dress  of 
Mrs.  Hinsdale,  while  busy  with  her  suiFering  companion.  As 
anything  seemed  preferable  to  such  quarters,  they  left  on  the 
evening  of  the  4th,  Mr.  Hinsdale  having  had  to  send  to  a  dis- 
tant village,  ere  he  could  find  men  willing,  for  any  price,  to  carry 
th.-',  litter  he  had  prepared  for  Mrs.  Mitchell ;  and  often  after, 
&h(j  had  to  be  laid  in   the  road,  while  he  rode  far  and  near  to 


1:00  DR.     GRAN  T     A  N  D     T  U  E 

tiiid  four  men  willing  to  perform  what  they  deemed  the  degrad- 
ing service  of  carrying  a  woman.  It  was  now  so  hot  they  were 
obliged  to  travel  by  night ;  and  as,  during  the  day,  Mrs.  Hins- 
dale was  much  occupied  with  her  sick  associate,  she  was  often 
so  drowsy  on  horseback  that  her  husband  had  to  walk  by  her 
side,  to  prevent  her  falling.  Three  yeai's  afterwards,  she  pointed 
out  to  the  writer  a  place  in  the  road  where,  wrapped  in  her 
cloak,  on  the  ground,  she  snatched  half  an  hour's  sleep,  at  mid- 
night, amid  Arabs  clamoring  for  money,  and  yet  unv\'illing  to 
earn  it  by  carrying  Mrs.  Mitchell. 

Soon  after  sunrise,  on  the  Tth,  they  came  in  sight  of  Mosul ; 
and  never  did  wanderer  so  hail  the  sight  of  home  as  they  did 
that  city  of  strangers.  They  were  cordially  welcomed  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rassam,  one  of  whose  ^servants,  sent  to  meet  them,  had 
rendered  them  essential  service  the  last  two  days  of  their 
journey. 

For  a  day  or  two  Mrs.  Mitchell  seemed  to  improve,  and  at 
the  same  time  have  unusual  enjoyment  in  Christ ;  but  soon  her 
disease  assumed  a  new  form,  and  from  that  time  till  her  death, 
on  the  12th,  reason  was  dethroned.  For  two  days  before  her 
death  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinsdale  were  unable  to  see  her.  Nor 
were  they  able  to  perform  the  last  offices  for  her  after  death. 
Strangers  prepared  her  body  for  the  grave,  and  followed  it  to 
its  last  resting-place.  But  He  who  came,  and,  as  we  trust, 
received  her  spirit  to  himself,  was  no  stranger  to  the  redeemed 
one  he  ushered  into  bliss.  Let  us  not  say  that  severed  family 
was  reunited,  but  rather  that  they  entered  into  the  presence  of 
Him  they  loved  more  than  one  another ;  that  each  was  received 
into  that  one  family  above,  of  which  earthly  ones  are  but  the 
shadow. 

Mr.  Hinsdale,  who  had  watched  with  Mrs.  Mitchell  till  he 
fainted  in  attempting  to  walk  from  one  room  to  another,  was 
taken  violently  ill  before  her  death,  and  was  not  able  to  leave 
his  bed  till  August.     Mrs.  Hinsdale,  at  the  same  time,  was  too 


?,IOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS. 


201 


ill  to  render  him  any  assistance.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  Dr. 
Grant  arrived  just  in  time  to  save  him  from  the  probably  fatal 
consequence  of  a  relapse. 

In  view  of  these  afflictions,  Mr.  Hinsdale  remarks  :  "  And 
now  what  shall  we  say  ?  Only  that  '  It  is  the  Lord.  Let  him  do 
what  seemeth  him  good.'  We  know  that  the  cause  is  far  dearer 
to  Him  than  it  can  be  to  us.  I  have  feared  lest  the  churches 
should  be  so  discouragedby  these  apparent  frowns  of  Providence 
as  not  to  send  more  laborers  into  this  field.  But  what  are  these 
sacrifices  made  by  the  church  to  that  the  Son  of  God  made  for 
the  salvation  of  the  world?  May  they  only  call  forth  more 
earnest  prayer  for  our  success  !  " 

That  these  fatal  results  were  not  owing  to  any  peculiar  hazard 
in  the  journey  itself,  but  only  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  when 
it  was  performed,  is,  perhaps,  sufficiently  evident  from  what  has 
been  said.  But  it  will  be  yet  more  manifest  when  we  see  Dr. 
Smith  passing  over  the  same  ground  in  March,  1844,  not  only 
without  injury,  but  with  his  health  actually  improved  by  the 
journey. 

The  climate  of  Mosul  is  very  hot,  as  will  appear  from  the 
following  abstract  of  the  temperature  for  a  single  year. 


Average. 


Sunrise. 

2  p.  M. 

47 

January, 

38 

February, 

44 

55 

March, 

51 

62 

April, 

50 

62 

May, 

66 

82 

June, 

76 

96 

.July, 

86 

106 

August, 

81.03 

98 

September, 

71.71 

87.69 

October, 

65.3 

78.65 

November, 

56.43 

62.5 

December, 

42.45 

49.36 

46 
51 

58         I 
57         I 

9  p.  M.      i 

74  ! 

88  j 

95  I 

Sunset.  I 

93  i 

83.55  i 

74.71  I 

59.4  i 

47  I 


30 
35 
45 


58 
65 

78 

74 

68 
66 
48 
30 


Highest.  I  Gen.   Average. 


55 
63 

69 

75 

91 
104 
114 

105 
93 

87 
79 
59 


43.67 
50 
57 
56.33 

74 

86.67 

95.67 

90.64 
80.98 
72.89 
59.44 
46.27 


Giving  for  the  year  the  average  of  67.80.    Coldest  30,  warm- 
17 


2(j2  dr.    grant   and   the 

est  114,  range  83.  This  was  in  1843-4 ;  but  recent  intelli- 
gence from  thence  (1852)  speaks  of  the  mercury  as  high  as  117. 
This  may  seem  an  excessive  heat  for  latitude  north  38.19  ;  but 
it  may  be  relied  on  as  correct.  Three  thermometers  were  htmg 
up  in  different  places,  for  several  days,  to  determine  the  most 
eligible  position  ;  and,  when  removed  into  the  sun  at  noon,  the 
mercury  rose  at  once  to  144  or  148.  On  account  of  this 
excessive  heat,  all  who  are  able  have  serdaubs  (cellars)  fitted 
up  under  the  court  of  the  house,  for  sitting-rooms  in  summer ; 
and  the  nights  are  spent  on  the  roofs  by  all  classes,  from  May 
till  September,  —  dew  or  rain,  during  the  warm  season,  being 
alike  unknown.  Siroccos  sometimes  occur  in  the  summer ;  and 
then  the  air  is  so  filled  with  fine  sand,  that,  however  one  shuts 
himself  up,  it  is  deposited  all  around  him,  and  sifts  into  every 
drawer,  desk  and  trunk.  The  stifling  heat  in  the  innermost 
apartment  produces  the  same  lassitude  as  without ;  and  the  very 
air  seems  lurid  and  dark,  as  if  almost  impervious  to  light.  Id 
July,  every  dry  object  communicates  the  sensation  of  heat. 
Beds  seem  just  scorched  with  a  warming-pan,  and  even  the  stone 
floor  is  hot  to  the  touch.  A  change  of  linen,  instead  of  impart- 
ing the  cool i up;  sensation  that  it  does  in  other  climes,  feels  as  if 
fresh  from  the  mouth  of  a  furnace  ;  for  perspiration  keeps  the 
body  cooler  than  the  dry  substances  around  it.  Such  extreme 
heat  deals  most  unmercifully  with  furniture.  Solid  mahogany 
desks  are  split;  articles  fastened  with  glue  fall  to  pieces; 
miniatures  painted  on  ivory  curl  like  a  shaving,  and  the  ivory 
handles  of  knives  and  forks  crack  from  end  to  end.  An  unfor- 
tunate piano,  that  had  wandered  from  England  to  one  of  the 
consulates,  was  continually  wrenched  out  of  tune,  and  rendered 
useless.  Such  was  the  climate  in  which  Mrs.  Mitchell  suffered 
her  last  sickness  ;  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinsdale  recovered  as  this 
excessive  heat  began  to  moderate. 

Dr.  Grant  and  his  associates  now  found  themselves  in  pecu- 
liar circumstances.    They  were  sent  to  the  Mountain  Nestorians  ; 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  203 

but  the  way,  to  them,  was  now  hedged  up.  The  Kurds  were 
attacking  their  more  exposed  pasture-grounds.  Turkey  was 
assuming  a  hostile  attitude.  The  emir  had  invoked  its  aid,  and 
the  danger  was  that  both  together  would  overwhelm  them.  The 
Nestorians  themselves,  split  up  into  hostile  parties,  were  inca- 
pable of  any  concerted  movement.  Suleiman  Bey  had  sided  with 
many  of  his  tribe  who  were  opposed  to  alliance  with  Turkey, 
and  seized  the  reins  of  government  in  the  absence  of  his  cousin ; 
and,  as  the  main  object  of  the  Osmanlies  was  to  subjugate  the 
Nestorians,  as  well  as  the  Kurds,  the  Patriarch  naturally,  but 
unhappily,  as  it  proved,  sided  with  his  friend.  In  such  a  state 
of  things  it  was  vain  to  attempt  any  missionary  labor. 

But,  though  shut  out  from  that  field,  they  found  themselves 
in  another.  Without  any  plan  of*  theirs,  God  had  placed  them 
in  a  city  of  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom  nearly  one- 
third  were  nominal  Christians.  From  the  Black  Sea  to  the 
Indian  Ocean,  and  from  Aleppo  to  the  plains  of  Aderbijan,  there 
was  not  one  evangelical  missionary,  of  any  denomination  wlHit- 
soever.  The  whole  region  seemed  abandoned  to  Papal  super- 
stition and  Moslem  fanaticism.  In  such  circumstances,  their 
hearts  could  not  but  be  stirred  within  them.  But  the  wide 
extent  of  the  field  formed  by  no  means  its  greatest  claim. 
Another  branch  of  the  venerable  church  of  Antioch,  that  had  long 
wirthstood  the  assaults  of  Rome,  was  now  attacked  from  a  new 
point.  By  her  usual  arts  Home  had  seduced  a  portion  of  the 
people ;  and,  true  to  her  persecuting  character,  she  now  invoked 
the  aid  of  the  Turks  to  take  away  the  churches  from  those  who 
still  remained  true  to  their  ancient  faith.  "  On  the  side  of  their 
oppressors  there  was  power,"  and  soon  rough  partition-walls 
divided  the  sanctuaries  of  their  fathers.  On  one  side  the  faith- 
ful remnant  chanted  their  ancient  hymns ;  on  the  other  rose  the 
voices  of  the  Papists,  amid  wax  images  imported  from  Rome. 

In  such  circumstances,  it  was  natural  that  the  Jacobites,  —  for 
that  is  the   c'lurch  referred  to,  —  as  soon  as  they  learned  the 


204  B  K  .     GRANT     AND     THE 

adherence  of  the  missionaries  to  the  Bible,  and  their  opposition 
to  Papal  innovations,  should  regard  them  as  friends.  Painfully 
sensible  of  the  need  of  knowledge  in  order  to  resist  error,  they 
had  already,  in  their  poverty,  established  schools;  and  now  they 
welcomed  the  missionaries  as  valuable  assistants  in  the  work. 
Still,  as  they  had  once  been  duped  by  the  plausible  pretences  of 
the  Papists,  they  were  cautious  in  their  advances  toward  strang- 
ers. But  Providence  had  provided  for  this  also.  When  Dr. 
Grant  arrived  in  Mosul,  he  found  Joseph  Matthew,  a  Jacobite 
priest,  from  Malabar,  —  a  graduate  of  the  English  college  at 
Cottayam,  and  very  evangelical  in  his  views,  —  on  his  way  to 
the  Patriarch  at  Mardin,  to  be  ordained  metropolitan  of  the 
Jacobites  in  India.  He  spoke  English  with  much  propriety, 
and  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his 
church.  He  at  once  gave  the  missionaries  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  recommend  them  to  the 
people.  But  then,  though  with  the  former  he  could  converse  in 
English,  he  had  no  medium  of  intercourse  with  the  latter.  And 
this  opens  another  page  of  missionary  providence. 

A  young  Jacobite  millwright  had  grown  up  to  manhood  with- 
out knowing  a  letter.  Such  a  thing  as  an  adult  learning  to 
read  was,  to  him  at  least,  unheard  of,  and  by  the  people  about 
him  deemed  impossible;  so  that,  when  he  made  the  attempt,  he 
was  laughed  at  for  his  pains.  Undismayed  by  ridicule,  he 
induced  the  son  of  a  priest  to  teach  him  the  Syriac  alphabet : 
and,  after  he  came  home  from  his  day's  work  among  the  rude 
horse-raills  of  the  city,  by  the  light  of  his  lamp,  in  the  solitude 
of  his  own  room,  he  spelled  his  way  into  a  tolerable  knowledge 
of  the  ancient  Syriac.  Not  content  with  merely  repeating  the 
sounds  of  the  words  as  others  did,  he  sought  for  their  meaning  ; 
and,  mark  the  result!  The  priest  from  India  spoke  this  lan- 
guage freely,  and,  with  Micha  for  his  interpreter,  he  preached 
Christ  and  him  crucified  to  the  Jacobites  of  Mosul.  What  a 
chain  of  providences  !     Just  when   that  church,    hard  pressed 


'.MOUNTAIN     N  K  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  205 

by  its  enemies,  was  looking  round  for  help,  the  missionaries 
were  sent ;  and  while  they  were  held  back  fi-om  entering  the 
field  they  came  from  America  to  occupy,  a  priest,  from  India, 
prepared  to  appreciate  their  object,  was  sent  to  introduce  them 
into  another ;  and,  from  among  that  other  people,  in  an 
unusual  way,  Grod  provided  an  interpreter  for  his  servant  from 
the  East.  Such  things  reveal  the  deep  interest  of  the  Redeemer 
in  the  missionary  work,  and  the  manifold  agencies  he  can  make 
to  cooperate  in  its  prosecution.  August  and  September  were 
filled  with  the  labors  of  this  new  coadjutor;  and  by  these,  and 
other  labors  of  the  mission,  especially  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures,  a  spirit  of  inquiry  was  awakened,  that  never  wholly 
subsided,  and  even  now  promises  abundant  fruit. 

A  Chaldean  priest,  who  was  awakened  to  many  of  the  errors 
of  his  church,  also  tendered  his  services,  and  was  employed  for 
some  months  as  teacher  in  Syriac. 

The  efforts  of  England  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  Jews 
in  Turkey  had  led  the  two  hundred  families  of  that  people  in 
Mosul  to  feel  that  Christians  were  their  friends ;  and  many  of 
their  leading  men  called  on  the  missionaries,  and  conversed 
freely  respecting  the  Messiahship  of  Christ. 

Both  Dr.  Grant  and  Mr.  Hinsdale  were  invited  to  their  syn- 
agogue at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  were  ushered  into  the 
tabernacle  erected  in  the  court.  Besides  the  chief  Rabbi  of 
Mosul,  another  from  Jerusalem,  and  a  learned  Jew  from  Ker- 
kook,  were  present.  Deut.  28  :  9  and  15,  suspended  on  cards  in 
a  conspicuous  place,  furnished  admirable  themes  for  practical 
remarks.  It  seemed  as  if  they  had  placed  before  them  the 
righteous  cause  of  their  distresses,  and  ihe  way  of  deliverance. 
They  could  not  deny  tlie  former ;  but  they  excused  themselves 
from  following  the  latter,  on  the  ground  that,  even  if  they  should, 
others  would  not,  and,  therefore,  the  curse  would  still  remain. 
It  was  interesting  to  recognize,  in  the  Bible  they  used,  one 
given  by  Dr.  Grant  to  a  Jew  in  Oroomiah  several  years  before. 
17# 


206  L  11  .     u  11  A  N  T     A  N  i)     T  11  i: 

He  now  furnished  them  with  a  good  supply ;  and  many  read  the 
New  Testament  both  in  Hebrew  and  Arabic. 

At  the  end  of  September  Priest  Matthew  and  his  interpreter 
>eft  for  Mardin,  where  we  will  leave  them,  for  the  present,  in 
the  patriarchal  convent  Deir  Zafran,  a  place  to  which  the  reader 
has  been  already  introduced. 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  Dr.  Grant,  with  Mr.  Rassam,  ths 
English  vice-consul,  visited  the  pasha  at  Hammam  Ali,  twelve 
miles  below  Mosul,  and  not  far  from  Nimrud,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  The  hot  sulphur  springs  here  are  much  re- 
sorted to  in  summer;  and  there  are  also  springs  of  petroleum. 
The  pasha  told  him  that  an  army  of  Turks  and  Kurds,  from  Van, 
Jezira  and  Hakkary,  had  subdued  the  Nestorians,  and  burned 
the  house  of  the  Patriarch.  The  last  was  true  ;  but  the  other 
proved  to  be  only  the  invasion  of  a  single  tribe. 

As  we  shall  have  more  to  do  with  this  man,  let  us  glance 
briefly  at  his  character  and  conduct.  Mohammed  Pasha  — 
known  also  by  the  sobriquet  Iiijeh  Bairakdar  ( The  Little 
Ensign)  —  rose,  by  the  force  of  his  own  character,  from  even  a 
lower  station  than  that  —  if  report  speaks  true  —  to  the  rank  he 
then  held ;  for  it  is  said  he  commenced  life  as  a  groom.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  his  decision  and  energy  were  so  well  known,  that 
when,  for  some  time,  each  pasha  sent  from  the  Porte  had  been 
assassinated  by  the  Mosulians,  he  was  selected  as  the  only  man 
adequate  to  the  post.  He  found  the  whole  city  distracted  by 
sedition,  trade  at  an  end,  and  every  house  a  fortification,  from 
which  the  followers  of  each  petty  noble  shot  at  the  partisans  of 
all  the  rest.  Instead  of  taking  up  his  quarters,  like  his  prede- 
cessors,, at  the  palace  within  the  city,  he  took  possession  of  an  old 
country-seat  on  the  plain  to  the  south.  Strongly  posted  there,  he 
defied  every  attempt  at  assassination,  while,  one  by  one,  the 
leaders  fell  by  his  secret  agents.  This  done,  he  disarmed  the 
city,  —  punishing  severely  all  who  refused  to  surrender  their 
weapons.     At  the  same  time  he  put  hundreds  of  the  leading 


MOUNTAIN'     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  207 

men  to  death,  and  confiscated  their  propcitj.  This  energy  and 
rapacity  ran  side  bj  side  through  his  whole  course.  We  have 
seen  the  rebellion  at  Mardin,  in  1839,  quelled  by  him  at  once, 
after  the  Pasha  of  Diarbekr  had  attempted  it  in  vain.  Again, 
the  Kurds  near  Mosul  rebelled  under  his  extortions,  and  that 
insurrection  was  put  down,  mercilessly  but  effectually.  Some 
of  his  miserable  prisoners  were  imjmled  alive,  close  by  the  bridge 
where  their  fellow-clansmen  daily  entered  the  city,  —  giving 
them  significant  warning  what  to  expect,  should  they  again  incur 
his  vengeance. 

The  Arabs  who  invaded  the  pashalic  during  his  absence  else- 
where, and  put  Dr.  Grant  in  such  peril  on  his  return  from  the 
mountains,  were  also  chastised ;  and  the  Yezidees  of  tli<3  Sinjar, 
accustomed  to  robbery  from  time  immemorial,  were  signally 
punished.  Their  villages  were  laid  waste,  their  flocks  driven 
away,  many  of  their  men  slain,  and  more  made  prisoners. 
Throughout  the  province  all  was  quiet.  The  Arab  dared  not 
venture  within  reach  of  so  active  a  foe ;  the  Kurd  and  the 
Yezidee  no  longer  plundered.  But,  though  secure  from  all  else, 
men  soon  learned  to  dread  their  deliverer  more  than  the  robbers 
from  whom  lie  saved  tbem.  Each  village  and  hamlet  was  taxed 
to  the  uttermost,  till  many  were  rendered  as  desolate  by  the 
tax-gatherer  as  they  ever  had  been  by  banditti.  Whole  villages 
fled  from  an  oppression  they  could  not  endure.  But  even  flight 
was  punished  so  severely,  that  the  miserable  victims  learned  to 
flee  singly,  and  at  night,  as  their  only  chance  of  escape.  Ever}' - 
where,  in  the  plains  round  Mosul,  in  the  valleys  of  Kurdistan, 
or  among  the  hills  of  Mesopotamia,  were  roofless  houses  and 
diserted  fields ;  deserted  because  it  was  easier  to  begin  anew 
elsewhere  than  to  sow  and  reap  for  the  pasha. 

At  Mosul  he  built  large  barracks,  and  established  a  cannon 
foundery,  where  brass  pieces,  of  various  sizes,  were  cast,  and 
mounted  ready  for  use.  Some  were  intended  to  be  carried  on 
the  backs  of  camels ;  and  some  field-pieces  were  not  only  pro 


208  D  K  .     0  11  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

vided  with  very  good  carriages,  but  hanies.s  was  manufactured, 
and  horses  trained  to  the  service.  Tents,  and  all  kinds  of  mili- 
tary equipage,  even  hard  bread  enough  for  a  long  campaign, 
were  all  ready  for  the  field  at  a  moment's  notice.  A  well- 
appointed  military  band,  with  European  instruments  ajid  music, 
played  martial  airs  every  evening  in  front  of  the  palace. 

But  the  place  where  Dr.  Grant  now  found  him  affords  an 
illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  he  met  this  expenditure. 
To  make  his  powder  —  for  he  had  converted  a  large  mosque  by 
the  river  side  into  a  powder-mill  —  he  wrought  a  sulphur-mine 
near  this  very  spot.  As  it  produced  much  more  than  he  could 
use,  he  exported  it  to  Bagdad ;  but  that  market  was  soon  over- 
stocked. He  next  apportioned  the  amount  on  hand  among  the 
various  sects  in  Mosul;  and,  whether  they  needed  it  or  no, 
willing  or  unwilling,  each  man  had  to  buy  so  much  sulphur  at 
double  the  market  price. 

Whenever  any  district  was  drained  of  money,  —  no  uncommon 
occurrence,  —  the  taxes  were  received  in  kind,  and  whatever  was 
not  needed  for  the  soldiery  was  disposed  of  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  sulphur.  On  his  return  from  his  Sinjar  campaign,  the 
flocks  of  the  conquered  Yezidees  were  disposed  of  by  the  same 
method ;  and  where  the  animal,  over-driven  in  the  heat,  had  per- 
ished on  the  road,  or,  mayhap,  been  eaten  by  the  soldiers,  its 
ears,  cut  off  and  brought  to  the  city,  had  to  be  paid  for,  just  as 
if  it  had  been  delivered  alive  and  sound. 

Another  mode  of  replenishing  his  exchequer  was  to  forbid  all 
pursuing  a  given  trade,  except  those  to  whom  he  sold  a  monopoly 
at  an  exorbitant  price.  A  respectable  Moslem,  who  had  the 
monopoly  of  coffee,  came  one  day  to  visit  Dr.  Grant.  The  doc- 
tor inquired  how  much  he  paid  for  it.  So  and  so,  he  replied ; 
and,  "  take  my  whole  sales,  I  do  not  receive  the  same  sum  in 
return."  —  "  How,  then,  do  you  live?  "  —  "  0,  last  year  I  had 
the  monopoly  of  making  rafts,  and  prospered ;  the  pasha  heard 
that  I  did,  and  this  is  the  result."    It  may  interest  some  to  know 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  2C9 

the  amount  of  his  exactions  for  this  year  (1841),  It  was  no  less 
than  three  million  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  five 
hundred  piastres,  which,  at  twenty -three  piastres  to  the  dollar,  is 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
thirty-five  dollars.  Some  of  the  items  are  as  follows  :  Tax  0:1 
loads  entering  the  gates,  three  hundred  thousand  piastres;  monop- 
oly of  soap,  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand;  building  raft^s 
lifty  thousand;  tobacco,  twenty-four  thousand  five  hundred ;  cofiec, 
twenty-seven  thousand  ;  duty  on  grain,  one  hundred  thousand  ; 
on  meat,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand ;  stam.p  on  goods,  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand ;  dying  with  indigo,  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  thousand  ;  corporation-tax,  one  million  and 
fifty  thousand ;  exactions  from  Moslems  at  the  New  Year,  sixty 
thousand.  Besides  these,  for  the  Kharaj  (tribute  demanded  b)^ 
Moslem  governments  from  Christians  and  Jews),  fixed  by  the 
Sultan  at  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  piastres,  he  levies  two 
hundred  thousand. 

After  such  statements,  no  one  need  be  surprised  to  know  that 
while,  in  1835,  the  imports  of  European  goods  amounted  to  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-six  bales,  in  1841  they  amounted  only  to 
ninety-four,  or,  including  the  red  caps  {fez),  imported  from 
France  and  Genoa,  they  decreased  from  one  thousand  and  sixteen 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty -four.^ 

As  such  facts  may  seem  strange  to  American  readers,  the 
following  extracts  from  letters  of  M.  Botta,  son  of  the  Italian 
author  of  the  History  of  our  own  Revolution,  and  late  French 
consul  at  Mosul,  may  show  that,  however  strange  or  distressing, 
at  least  they  are  not  exaggerated.  They  are  all  of  a  later 
date  ;  but,  as  they  refer  to  the  subject  in  hand,  they  are  inserted 
here.  Writing,  December  8th,  1844,  when  the  successor  of 
Mohammed  Pasha  governed  the   province,  he    says :       "  Our 

*  Those  wishing  further  statistics  on  this  point  will  find  them  in  Col. 
Chesney's  large  work,  vol.  11.,  appendix  E,  from  which  the  above  data  aio 
condensed. 


210  DR.      GRAM     AND     THE 

pasha  is  as  bad  as  when  you  left,  and  the  poor  Christians 
suffer  just  the  same.  They  say  that  soon  he  will  be  removed, 
but  I  am  much  afraid  of  getting  a  worse  one.  There  is  no  hope 
for  these  countries  but  in  a  radical  change,  and  God  only  knows 
when  it  will  take  place.  Patience  is  the  thing  now  ;  but  mine  is 
worn  out,  and  I  long  for  the  moment  when  I  shall  leave  this 
miserable  place. 

"  You  have  no  idea  how  Khorsabad  looks  just  now.  It  blows 
a  hurricane,  and  the  windows  of  heaven  are  opened  on  us.  My 
'  castle  '  is  demolished,  and  I  live  in  a  small  room,  in  a  dirty 
house,  —  the  only  one  remaining  in  the  village.  I  cannot  thrust 
my  nose  out  of  the  door.  No  work  can  be  done,  and  I  re- 
main alone  the  whole  day,  musing  upon  the  vanities  of  this 
world.  Add  to  that  my  usual  debility  and  slow  fever,  and  you 
will  understand,  perhaps,  my  situation.  It  is  a  comfort  to  me 
to  think  that  you  are  just  now  almost  in  a  civilized  country, 
looking  on  the  face  of  my  old  friend,  the  sea.  How  much  I 
love  it !  It  makes  me  pensive,  but  never  sad,  and  speaks  a 
thousand  unutterable  things.  Look  at  it,  my  dear  sir,  and  think 
of  me  ;  let  us  hope  that  we  shall  meet  again,  —  meanwhile,  be 
happy,  and  believe  me,  &c."  This  description  of  his  situation 
at  Khorsabad  will  be  interesting  to  those  familiar  with  his  exca- 
vations there,  which  led  the  way  in  the  wonderful  discoveries  of 
Assyrian  antiquities  since  so  successfully  carried  on  by  Mr. 
Layard. 

March  23,  1845,  he  thus  describes  another  pasha ;  for  Shereef, 
the  successor  of  Mohammed,  proved  utterly  inadequate  to  the 
situation  : 

"  You  are  very  happy,  my  dear  sir,  in  having  left  Mosul 
before  the  arrival  of  our  new  pasha.  He  is,  I  believe,  the  most 
hideous  man  I  ever  saw  ;  four  feet  high,  lame,  crooked,  with  only 
one  eye,  one   ear,  and  half  a  nose.=^     His  face,  too,  most  hor- 

*  Probably  marks  of  punishment,  inflicted  for  crime,  according  to  the 
Moslem  code. 


.MOUNTAIN    nestoria:;s.  211 

ribly  scarred  with  small-pox.  His  soul  is  the  fit  inoabitant  of 
such  a  body.  He  is  a  perfect  compound  of  every  bad  propen- 
sity, —  cruelty,  craftiness,  greediness  and  lust.  He  cuts  off 
heads,  strangles  people,  throws  others  into  the  river,  —  generally 
for  the  sake  of  their  property,  but  sometimes,  as  it  would  seem, 
merely  for  fun.  I  myself  saw  him  j&ring  bombs  among  the 
people,  just  to  enjoy  their  fright.  Besides,  this  horrid  monster, 
when  he  hears  of  girls  to  his  liking,  in  any  family,  sends  his 
kavasses  to  take  them  to  his  harem.  The  place  would  be  de- 
serted, but  that  he  has  walled  up  some  of  the  gates,  and  posted 
soldiers  at  the  others,  to  prevent  the  people  escaping  from  his 
clutches.  My  heart  is  sick,  and  I  long  for  the  moment  when  I 
shall  leave  this  place,  where  I  can  only  pity,  but  cannot  help  the 
misfortunes  of  my  fellow-men,  —  God  grant  it  may  be  soon  ! 
-The  French  government  wish  tvv^o  of  the  largest  winged-bulls 
transported  v.hole.  They  weigh  at  least  twenty-five  or  thirty 
tons  each,  and  you  may  fancy  it  is  no  joke  to  move  such  blocks 
in  such  a  country  ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  succeed."  And  he  did 
succeed  ;  the  same  carriage  that  he  constructed  with  so  much 
labor  afterwards  transporting  to  the  river  those  exhumed  by 
Mr.  Layard,  at  Nimrud. 

June  29th,  he  writes  :  "  Our  new  pasha  is  more  quiet  now  ; 
he  has  left  off  strangling  people,  and  now  thinks  of  nothing  but 
how  to  extort  their  last  farthing.  All  his  former  severity  was 
merely  intended  to  frighten  them,  so  as  to  prevent  resistance 
to  his  rapacity.  The  Arabs  come  to  the  very  gates  and  plunder 
at  their  leisure  ;  but  he  does  not  care,  —  he  wants  money,  that 
is  all."  The  reader  will  be  relieved  to  learn  that  this  monster 
—  Mohammed  Kereetly  (the  Cretan),^  as  he  was  named,  to 
distinguish  him  from  the  other  Mohammed  —  was  recalled  by 
the  Sultan,  and  now  lives  in  disgrace  in  the  vicinity  of  Smyrna. 

*  Compare  Titus  1  :  12  and  18.  This  man  is  a  striking  ilhisi ration  of 
the  "  evil  beasts"  of  verse  12. 


21 2  I'  " .      G  K  A  N  T      \^D     T  II  E 

But,  to  rclurii  to  Dr.  Grant.  Shortly  ul'ter  he  came  back  to 
the  city,  the  Jews  were  threatened  with  plunder  and  imprison- 
ment, merely  for  seeking  the  benefit  of  the  firman  obtained  by 
the  British  ambassador  for  their  toleration,  and  were  compelled 
to  renounce  it.  This  jealousy  of  foreign  interference  was 
constantly  manifested  by  the  pasha,  as  will  appear  more  clearly 
hereafter.  Another  case,  that  occurred  about  this  time,  is 
v>'orthy  of  notice.  A  Christian,  released  from  prison  at  the 
instance  of  the  English  consul,  was  remanded  back  as  soon  as 
the  latter  left  the  city  on  a  journey,  and  obtained  his  liberty 
only  on  his  paying  the  sum  originally  demanded.  It  was  well 
he  was  not  in  prison  when  the  firman  arrived  that  reserved  to 
the  Sultan  the  right  of  inflicting  capital  punishment.  For  then 
the  pasha  collected  all  the  leading  men  to  hear  it  read,  and 
when  he  was  sure  that  all  understood  it,  he  thus  addressed 
them :  "  If  the  Sultan,  or  any  one  else,  thinks  I  can  govern 
Mosul  without  this  power,  he  knows  nothing  about  the  matter." 
Making  a  sign  to  an  attendant,  the  heads  of  those  then  in  prison 
vrere  thrown  down  before  the  assembly;  and,  after  gazing  a 
while  at  the  ghastly  spectacle,  they  were  permitted  to  depart, 
glad  to  find  that  their  own  were  yet  safe  on  their  shoulders. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  this  took  place  in  a  region  where 
newspapers  were  unknown ;  and  no  one  who  had  family  or  for- 
tune, within  reach  of  the  pasha,  dared  breathe  a  whisper  to  his 
disadvantage.  Communication  with  the  capital,  too,  was  so  dif- 
ficult, that  a  letter  dated  at  Constantinople,  June  20th,  reached 
Mr.  Hinsdale  on  the  25th  of  August ! 

Besides  oppression,  Mosul  suifered  terribly,  in  1829,  from  the 
lolague.  Hundreds  were  carried  out  every  day  and  thrown  into 
a  large  pit,  just  inside  the  northern  wall,  where  bones  and 
skulls  are  yet  visible  to  those  who  look  down  the  narrow  open- 
ing. Three  years  of  famine  had  preceded  it,  and  two  years  of 
the  dreaded  cholera  followed  ;  and  then,  as  though  all  this  had 


MOUNTAIN      NESTORIANS.  213 

not  inflicted  enough  of  misery,  came  the  seditions  aheady  re- 
ferred to,  as  preceding  the  coming  of  Mohammed  Pasha. 

During  the  plague  the  father  of  Micha  died,  and  a  leading 
Jacobite,  who  fled  with  his  family  from  the  city,  lost  a  child  in 
the  village  whither  he  had  gone  for  safety.  Though  the  dis- 
ease had  not  been  there  before,  yet  the  woman  who  nursed  the 
child,  her  husband  and  children,  followed  each  other  to  the  grave. 
He  then  escaped  to  the  convent  of  Mar  Mattai,  a  place  deemed 
so  sacred  that  plague  could  not  enter  there.  But  here  he 
lost  another  child,  and  his  brother  saved  his  life  only  by  cutting 
ofi"  the  swellings  as  fast  as  they  appeared.  His  next  resort  was 
to  a  solitary  cave  in  the  mountain  ;  and  there  his  wife,  too,  died, 
and  he  was  left  alone.  No  wonder  that  not  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  area  within  the  walls  is  occupied  with  buildings, 
and  that  that  constantly  diminishes,  as  houses  are  torn  down, 
and  the  stones  burned  into  lime,  to  repair  the  remainder.  The 
bazaars,  especially,  are  ruinous.  Whole  streets  of  shops  are  lit- 
erally turned  into  dung-hills;  and  in  one  covered  bazaar  the 
writer  found  only  two  dikkans  (shops)  occupied,  out  of  twenty- 
four.  Still,  a  small  part  of  them,  near  the  bridge  and  palace- 
gates,  are  very  much  crowded.  Citizens  and  soldiers,  villagers 
and  muleteers,  horses,  camels,  &c.,  literally  choke  the  narrow 
streets. 

November  4,  Dr.  Grant  thus  alludes  to  the  trials  of  the 
mission,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Wright :  "  Our  losses  and  the 
commotions  in  the  mountains  may  retard  our  operations,  but 
we  are  not  in  the  least  discouraged.  Your  remark  is  quite 
just,  that,  '  though  to  us  wars  and  tumults  seem  untoward,  great 
and  glorious  results  may  follow  them.'  In  the  overturning 
among  the  nations,  we  must  expect  wars  and  rumors  of  wars. 
But  '  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid,'  is  the  language  God  addresses 
to  us.  Should  commotions  continue,  as  they  may  do,  till  the 
Nestorians  are  finally  subdued,  we  may  find  it  necessary  to  work 
by  occasional  tours;  but,  at  all  events,  we  ought  to  stand  ready 
18 


lil4  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

to  enter  and  labor,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  as  the  Lord  of 
the  vineyard  may  direct," 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Hinsdale  was  able  to  travel,  Dr.  Grant  Jeft 
Mosul  with  him,  November  19th,  on  a  tour  among  the  Nestorians 
between  that  city  and  Amadia.  They  had  much  intercourse 
with  the  Nestorians,  Chaldeans,  Jews  and  Yezidees  ;  visited  the 
sacred  place  of  the  latter  at  Sheikh  Adi,  and,  after  collecting 
much  valuable  information,  and  preaching  the  truth  as  they  had 
opportunity,  they  returned  to  Mosul,  December  4th.^ 

Dr.  Grant  now  felt  that  the  independence  of  the  Nestorians  was 
virtually  gone,  and  that  the  Patriarch  would  do  well  to  make  terms 
with  the  Turks;  and  expressed  these  feelings  freely  to  the  Board 
at  home,  though,  for  good  reasons,  he  said  nothing  to  the  Nes- 
torians themselves.  Daring  this  winter  they  made  an  attack  on 
the  district  of  Berwer,  destroying  a  number  of  villages,  and  car- 
rying oft"  many  of  their  flocks.  This,  he  felt,  showed  more  bold- 
ness than  discretion,  to  say  nothing  of  its  injustice ;  and  he 
rejoiced  that  he  was  not  in  the  mountains,  to  be  embroiled  in  such 
proceedings.  "  Still,"  he  writes,  "  there  is  no  room  for  discour- 
agement,—  none  for  delay ;  but  much  for  hope, —  much  for  haste ;" 
and  hoped  to  be  able  to  enter  in  the  spring,  before  the  army  of 
the  pasha  should  render  the  road  unsafe. 

In  the  beginning  of  1842  the  two  schools  of  the  Jacobites  were 
put  under  the  care  of  the  mission,  —  the  first  January  12th,  and 
the  other  a  month  later.  In  the  spring  Priest  Matthew  returned 
from  Mardin  as  Mutran  Athanasius,  his  zeal  in  the  good  work  no 
whit  abated  by  the  transformation  ;  and  Micha  returned  also,  a 
more  intelligent  and  valuable  assistant,  though  not  then,  as  he 
thinks,  a  converted  man.  Besides  his  more  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  Syriac,  he  had  studied  the  Arabic  also,  though  he  has 
never  made  such  proficiency  in  it  as  in  the  other.     His  knowl- 

*  For  a  full  account  of  the  tour,  see  Missionary  Herald,  1842,  pp. 
310—320. 


51  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  215 

edge  of  it,  however,  was  sufficient  to  secure  his  appointment  as 
Mr.  Hinsdale's  Arabic  teacher,  April  11th,  the  day  before  the 
mission  opened  a  school  at  Bertulla,  and  five  days  before  they 
began  another  at  Baashekha.  Besides  teaching  Mr.  Hinsdale, 
Micha  now  set  himself  so  diligently  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
English,  that  he  was  soon  of  much  assistance  to  the  missionaries 
in  their  intercourse  with  the  people. 

Dr.  Grant  had  written  to  Mr.  Stocking,  January  13th,  "  It  is 
probable  that  the  Pasha  of  Erzrum  will  unite  his  forces  with 
those  of  Mosul  and  the  Kurds,  so  as  to  strike  an  effectual  blow 
at  once  at  the  liberties  and  lives  of  the  poor  Nestorians ;  and 
they  must  fall,  unless  supported,  as  hitherto,  by  an  Almighty  arm. 
This  calls  loudly  on  us  to  be  fervent  in  prayer  on  their  behalf. 
Perhaps  I  may  pass  in,  and  do  what  I  can,  before  the  army 
enters,  to  prepare  them  for  their  approaching  trials.  But,  before 
it  is  time  to  act,  the  path  of  duty  will  be  made  plain." 

As  spring  advanced,  he  again  looked  toward  the  mountains ; 
and  Mr.  Hinsdale  would  fain  have  gone  in  with  him,  to  aid  in 
the  selection  of  a  permanent  station.  But  Mrs.  Hinsdale  was 
unable  to  do  so  ;  and,  as  the  English  consul  had  left  on  a  visit  to 
Baghdad,  so  that,  if  he  went,  she  must  remain  alone,  his  going 
was  out  of  the  question.  Still,  though  in  February,  Mr.  Hinsdale 
had  a  severe  attack,  resembling  the  cholera,  from  which  it  seemed 
nothing  but  the  unremitting  attentions  of  Dr.  Grant  could  have 
recovered  him  ;  and  though  Mrs.  Hinsdale  also  had  been  much 
benefited  by  his  prescriptions,  yet  they  would  not  for  a  moment 
detain  him  from  the  field.  Trying  as  it  was,  in  such  circum- 
stances, to  be  left  alone,  they  even  advised  his  going,  trusting 
that  He  who  had  been  with  them  in  six  troubles  in  seven  would 
not  forsake  them.  Mr.  Plinsdale  had  already  written  home  an 
appeal  for  more  laborers ;  and  in  that,  after  asking,  "  Are  there 
no  sons  of  the  prophets,  whose  hearts  burn  with  holy  zeal,  to 
'  come  over  and  help  us  ?  '  "  and  expressing  his  confidence  that 
such  would  be  found,  he  adds,  "But  if  not,  —  if  alone  we  must 


1!  1  6  D  R  .    G  R  A  N  T     AND     T  »  1]     X  E  S  T  <1  K  I  A  N  S  . 

hear  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  —  still  we  will  rejoice  to 
toil  as  God  shall  give  us  strength,  and  bless  Him  for  the 
privilege  till  He  shall  give  us  rest." 

It  was  a  source  of  much  consolation  to  Dr.  Grant  that  Bishop 
Athanasius  had  consented  to  remain  during  the  summer,  when 
his  presence  was  so  much  needed,  both  by  Mr.  Hinsdale,  and  the 
people  among  whom  he  still  labored,  as  before,  with  Micha  for 
his  interpreter. 

Ismael  Pasha,  the  Kurdish  chief  of  Amadia,  had  escaped  from 
the  Turks,  and,  rousing  his  tribe  to  rebellion,  had  plundered 
the  convent  of  Rabban  Hormuz  and  retaken  Amadia,  through 
the  treachery  of  its  Mutsellim.  The  Pasha  of  Mosul  was  now 
besieging  the  place,  in  turn  ;  and  access  to  the  mountains  was  so 
unsafe  in  that  direction,  that  Dr.  Grant  determined  to  attempt 
it  from  the  Persian  frontier. 


.  CHAPTER     XII. 

JOURNEY    TO  OROOMIAH YEZIDEES   AND   MELEK   TAOOS — ERBIL CHURL- 
ISHNESS    Of     KURDS CHIEF     OF     RAVANDOOZ  SCENERY THE      TOWN 

OF    RAVANDOOZ PILLARS    AT    SIDEK   AND     KELI     SHIN USHNEl DIF- 
FICULTIES   AND    DELAYS. 

Dii.  Grant  set  out  for  Oroomlah  June  6th,  attended  by  a 
young  Syrian,  who,  besides  his  acquaintance  with  Kurdish 
and  Arabic,  was  qualij&ed,  by  uncommon  courage,  for  the  expe- 
dition. He  was  tall  and  athletic,  and  to  his  two  names,  Babo  and 
Abdulheiyat,  added  a  third,  Abderrahman,  especially  for  the 
journey.  A  quilt  bound  upon  his  mvn  saddle,  and  a  rug  and 
hoorj  (saddle-bags),  containing  a  few  books,  medicines,  &c..  on 
the  mule  of  his  servant,  made  up  his  whole  outfit.  Mr.  Hins- 
dale and  Bishop  Athanasius  went  with  them,  the  first  day,  on 
their  way,  to  visit  some  of  the  schools  ;  and  the  pasha's  phy- 
sician and  banker  accompanied  all  a  few  miles  from  the  city. 
As  they  rode  over  the  plain  of  Assyria,  each  band  of  reapers 
presented  the  customary  offering  of  a  small  sheaf  of  grain,  one 
of  the  many  oriental  modes  of  begging  a  present.  The  barley 
harvest  was  past,  and  the  last  of  the  wheat  was  fast  falling  be 
fore  their  aAvkward  sickles.  The  fair  sex  —  if  fair  they  might 
be  called,  bronzed  as  they  were  by  an  Eastern  sun  —  lent  their 
customary  aid  ;  and  the  long  ears  of  the  donkeys  were  just  vis- 
ible under  the  loads  of  sheaves  they  carried  to  the  threshing- 
floors.  On  these  oxen  dragged  round  a  sharp  threshing  instru- 
ment, having  teeth,  —  Isa.  41  :  15,  —  which  cut  the  straw  very 
fine.  This,  with  barley,  constitutes  almost  the  only  food  of 
18=^ 


218  DR.      GRANT     AND     T II  P: 

their  horses  and  beasts  of  burden  ;  — a  custom  as  old  as  the  days 
of  Solomon,  —  1  Kings,  4  '  28,  —  if  not  much  ohler.  Hay  is 
not  used,  except  in  the  mountains,  where  grain  is  scarce. 

The  road  was  the  same  he  travelled  on  his  first  journey,  as 
far  as  Baazani,  four  hours  from  xMosul.  Here  they  spent  the 
night  on  the  roof,  the  only  refuge  fi-om  the  hungry  swarms  that 
rendered  sleep  impossible  below  it.  This  is  generally  safe ;  but 
the  cool  night  wind,  after  his  hot  ride  through  the  day,  brought 
on  a  cold,  that  for  a  day  or  two  threatened  to  put  a  stop  to  his 
journey.  In  the  morning  there  was  quite  a  stir  among  the 
Yezidees,  to  see  the  brazen  image  of  a  cock,  which  they  revere, 
if  not  worship.  It  is  carried  from  place  to  place  on  special 
occasions,  or  whenever  a  Yezidee  pays  enough  to  have  his 
mansion  blest  by  its  presence.  As  the  Moslems  hate  images, 
they  deny  its  existence  before  them ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
they  have  it,  though  what  it  represents  is  not  so  clear,  unless  the 
name  Mehk  Taoos  (King  Peacock),  also  used  for  Satan,  may 
furnish  a  clue.  They  profess  to  have  a  book  in  a  language  of 
their  own,  and  that  only  one  family  is  allowed  to  read  it.  They 
observe  the  three  days'  fast  of  Jonah,  as  the  Christians  around 
them  do,  and  say  prayers  privately.  Polygamy,  though  allowed, 
is  practised  by  very  few ;  and  they  observe  a  feast  corresponding 
to  that  of  Easter  or  the  Passover,  and  another  at  the  time  of  the 
feast  of  tabernacles,  or  the  feast  of  the  cross  in  the  Eastern 
churches.  After  breakfast  they  rode  to  Baashekha,  where  the 
Yezidees  paid  all  due  respect  to  the  bishop,  though  they  would 
not  send  their  children  to  the  same  school  with  the  Syrians,  but 
asked  for  one  of  their  own.  From  thence  the  company  went  on 
to  Bertulla,  where  the  mission  had  a  flourishing  school,  which 
was  afterwards  supported  by  the  people  themselves,  —  a  fact  that 
deserves  to  be  noticed,  in  view  of  the  oppression  that  discourages 
every  attempt  at  improvement. 

They  found  a  cool  retreat  in  the  church,  though  the  mercury 
rose  to  140°  in  the  sun.     The  people  crowded  around  them,  and 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOllIANS.  219 

gave  them  a  jilea^arit  opportunity  to  try  to  do  them  good.  After 
some  refreshment,  the  bishop  led  in  prayer'(iii  English)  for  a 
blessing  upon  each  of  them  and  on  that  dark  land,  and  tluis  they 
parted.  With  the  bishop  Dr.  Grant  never  met  again,  though 
there  now  lies  before  the  writer  a  letter  from  him,  dated  Cochin, 
February  15th,  1845,  addressed  to  Dr.  Grant,  nearly  a  year 
after  his  death.  In  it  he  says,  "  After  my  arrival  here,  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  quarrelling  among  us  ;  but,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  there  is  rest  now.  I  have  been  visiting  all  the  churches 
in  the  interior  of  Malabar.  The  people  receive  me  with  great 
joy,  and  hear  the  word  of  God  gladly.  I  trust  that  God,  in  his 
good  time,  will  remember  and  have  pity  on  us,  and  exalt  us  from 
our  fallen  estate." 

Dr.  Grant  was  now  alone,  with  a  single  native  attendant,  and 
a  perilous  enterprise  before  him.  But,  feeling  that  "  the  path  of 
duty  is  the  only  path  of  safety,"  he  rode  cheerfully  along.  Four 
hours'  ride,  over  a  rich,  undulating  plain,  watered  by  the  Hazir, 
brought  him  to  the  Zab,  —  probably  the  Zerbis  of  Pliny  (Chcs- 
ney),  where  he  spent  the  night  in  the  open  air. 

Next  morning  he  rose  early,  and  floated  across  on  a  raft, 
supported  b}''  inflated  vskins,  at  a  village  named  Kellek  (raft), 
while  his  mules  swam  over,  guided  by  a  man  supported  by  a 
single  skin,  exactly  as  represented  in  the  Assyrian  sculptures  of 
Nimrud. 

Eight  hours  brought  him  to  Erbil  (Arbela),  which  gave  name  to 
the  great  battle  that  made  Alexander  master  of  Persia,  —  a  fact 
utterly  unknown  to  the  seven  or  eight  thousand  motley  tenants  of 
this  once  famous  city  of  the  Arsacidse.  The  Moslem  Sahibs  of  Er- 
bil, whose  power  extended  far  into  Persia  till  subverted  by  the 
Turks,  have  left  a  minaret,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  feet  high, 
now  far  out  of  the  town,  as  a  monument  of  its  greater  extent  under 
their  administration.^^     The  artificial  mound  on  which  the  castle 

*•  See  Penny  Cyclopedia,  and  Rich's  Kurdistan,  ii.  14. 


220  DR.    C;  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     THE 

ytaacls  presents  a  beautiful  appearance,  with  the  distant  Kurd- 
ish mountains  in  the  back-ground.  Rich  calls  it  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  three  or  four  hundred  yards  in 
diameter.  In  the  time  of  the  Nicene  Council  this  was  made  the 
Christian  metropolis  of  Adiabene,  by  Papa,  Primate  of  Seleucia. 
There  are  about  two  hundred  Jewish  families  in  the  town.  Some 
of  them  sell  the  Parthian  and  Sassanian  coins  they  find  here  in 
Mosul  and  Bagdad;  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  are  Mohammed- 
ans. Dr.  Grant  stopped  at  the  Chaldean  village  of  Ainkowa, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  found  the  people 
with  all  the  openness  of  the  Nestorians,  but  forbidden  to  read 
any  volume  that  had  not  the  imprimatur  of  the  Pope,  —  thus, 
in  fact,  forbidding  them  to  read  the  Scriptures  altogether. 
Though,  at  first,  they  gladly  received  the  gospels  printed  by  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  they  had  afterwards  been 
compelled  to  destroy  them.  Thus  far  his  course  was  south  of 
east.  He  now  turned  nearly  due  north,  on  the  most  westerly  of 
two  roads  to  Ravandooz ;  and  then,  bearing  north  by  east  over 
a  low  range  of  hills,  reached  a  Kurdish  castle  at  Deir  (convent). 
An  ancient  church  is  said  to  have  stood  here  once,  and  he  sus- 
pected the  castle  occupied  its  place.  There  must  have  been  a 
multitude  of  churches  here  in  early  times ;  and  where  are  they 
now  ?  There  are  numerous  ruins  between  Mosul  and  the  Hazir, 
but,  thence  to  Oroomiah,  they  are  yet  to  be  discovered.  A  few 
villages  —  one,  an  hour  be}- ond  Ravandooz,  and  some  others  he 
heard  of,  a  little  ofi"  the  road  —  have  gone  over  to  the  Pope. 
These  had  been  told  the  usual  story  of  the  whole  world  having 
become  Papal ;  and  the  change  required  appeared  so  slight,  they 
yielded  to  the  profi"ered  temporal  advantages.  And  thus  all  the 
Nestorians,  from  Amadia,  the  mountain  tribes  and  Oroomiah,  as 
far.  south  and  east  as  Sennah,  have  passed  away,  or  are  changed 
only  in  name,  and  a  wider  remove  from  gos2)el  influence. 

The  day  following,  after  a  hard  bed  on  the  ground  before  the 
castle-gate,  and  a  breakfast  of  hard-boiled  eggs  and  half-baked 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  221 

barley  bread,  he  proceeded,  with  a  footman  for  guide.  A  horse- 
man had  been  promised,  to  go  as  far  as  Ravandooz,  but  did  not 
appear ;  and  he  was  glad  to  get  off  with  no  worse  treatment. 
The  region  is  noted  for  its  hatred  of  Christianity,  especially  of 
Franks,  who  are  regarded  as  its  strongest  bulwark ;  and  every 
step  furnished  proof  that  it  is  not  belied.  The  late  chief  had 
been  noted  for  his  strict  adherence  to  Mohammedan  law, — 
cutting  off  one  hand  for  the  first  theft,  the  other  for  the  next, 
the  head  for  the  third,  &c. ;  and  Dr.  Grant  found  evidence  of  his 
strictness  in  three  successive  guides,  each  blind  of  an  eye.  The 
chief  himself  had  only  one  eye,  and  may  have  taken  special  pleas- 
ure in  reducing  others  to  the  same  condition.  He  was  usually 
called  Koor  Bey  (blind  chief);  but  his  name  Mohammed  was 
equally  appropriate.  His  footsteps  were  marked  with  the  blood 
of  Christians,  and  all  unbelievers ;  and  his  coffers  were  filled 
with  the  plunder  of  villages  and  churches,  from  Aderbijan  to 
Mesopotamia,  and  as  far  north  as  Amadia  and  Jezira.  The 
Yezidees,  especially,  were  mercilessly  slain,  —  in  many  cases, 
doubtless,  a  just  retribution.  Many  Christians  still  pine  in  the 
slavery  to  which  he  consigned  them.  When  Dr.  Grant  first 
came  to  Oroomiah,  he  stripped  Mergawer  of  everything,  and  put 
to  the  sword  all  who  resisted ;  and  it  was  only  on  the  approach 
of  an  army,  headed  by  Col.  Shell,  that  he  retreated,  with  his 
booty,  to  his  own  dominions.  The  next  summer  the  Governor 
of  Aderbijan  was  sent  against  him ;  and  he  escaped  only  by  sur- 
rendering to  Reschid  Pasha,  who  attacked  him  at  the  same  time 
from  the  Turkish  side.  A  pledge  was  given,  under  oath,  that 
his  life  would  be  spared,  and  he  was  carried  prisoner  to  Constan- 
tinople. After  a  year  or  two  he  was  permitted  to  return ;  but 
a  kavass  overtook  him  near  Siwas,  and  a  cup  of  coffee,  prepared 
according  to  order,  relieved  the  government  from  all  further 
apprehension. 

With  all  his  cruelty,  he  was  much  beloved  by  his  people,  v/ho 
Btill  boast  of  the  security  that  prevailed  under  his  sway  ;  fjr  Vv'oe 


222  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

betide  the  man  ayIio  picked  up  an  article  on  the  road,  however 
valuable,  or  however  long  it  had  lain  there,  unless  he  was  its 
owner.  He  monopolized  the  gall-nuts  of  his  province,  receiving 
two-thirds  of  the  crop  as  his  share ;  and  ordered  two  men,  who 
had  gathered  theirs  without  paying  him  his  quota,  each  to  lose 
an  arm.  Even  a  moollah,  with  whom  some  twenty-five  nuts 
were  found,  was  fined  sixty  dollars.  One  of  his  own  servants 
had  eaten  a  bowl  of  stolen  yoghoort,  and  yet  denied  the  theft ; 
the  sword  of  the  terrible  chief  at  once  laid  bare  the  stolen  prop- 
erty, and  inflicted  a  terrible  punishment  on  the  offender.  One 
of  the  last  things  he  did,  before  his  surrender,  was  to  put  out  the 
eyes  of  a  faithful  friend,  who  came  to  warn  him  of  his  danger. 
But,  besides  being  the  bearer  of  evil  tidings,  —  which,  in  the 
East,  is  a  heinous  oiFence,  —  he  had  left  his  post  without  orders, 
and,  therefore,  he  found  no  mercy.  His  master  is  dead ;  but 
this  chief  still  lives,  a  monument  of  the  terrible  reign  of  Moham- 
med Koor  Bey,  of  Bavandooz. 

After  a  refreshing  sleep  under  a  tree,  not  flir  from  a  village, 
in  the  hills  of  Herir,  that  looked  more  like  a  den  of  thieves  than 
the  abode  of  honest  men.  Dr.  Grrant  rose  before  the  sun,  and  had 
a  delightful  ride  of  three  hours  to  the  romantic  town  of  Bavan- 
dooz. The  Zab,  which  had  been  in  sight  most  of  yesterday,  now 
broke  through  an  abrupt  chasm  on  the  right,  perpendicular  cliffs 
of  limestone  rising  high  on  either  side.  It  here  receives  the 
Bavandooz  river,  enlarged  by  two  tributaries  from  opposite 
directions.  The  scene  was  peculiarly  grand  as  he  looked  down 
on  it, -nearly  fifteen  hundred  feet  below.  The  ascent,  though 
steep,  had  been  so  winding,  that  he  rode  to  the  summit,  over 
a  road  sometimes  cut  into  the  very  face  of  the  cliff.  The 
description  of  the  same  place,  by  the  graphic  pen  of  the  Bev. 
D.  W.  Marsh,  eight  years  after,  presents  the  scene  so  vividly, 
that  no  one  will  regret  its  insertion.     He  says  : 

"  Although  familiar  with  the  grand  scenery  of  the  Catskill  and 
the  Green  Mountains,  never  before  have  I  seen  so  sublime  a 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  22fj 

pass.  The  vast  height  of  the  pinnacles,  the  roar  of  the  torrent 
and  resounding  cliiFs,  and  the  solemnity  of  star-light,  com- 
bined to  awe  and  rejoice  the  soul.  Huge  fallen  crags  lay  con- 
fiised  along  the  steeps.  Imagination  was  busy.  Wherever  space 
allowed,  trees  threw  their  giant  arms,  as  if  to  hold  the  traveller 
from  whirlpools  below,  like  a  mother's  fond  yet  vain  embrace, 
when  the  avalanche  comes  thundering  down.  Just  where  the 
footing  grew  scanty,  the  road  was  crowded  on  to  a  rude  bridge 
over  the  boiling  waters.  Scarcely  discerning  anything  earthly, 
we  seemed  like  spirits  wandering  in  wonder.  Were  those  appar- 
ent crags  and  precipices  realities  ?  Are  these,  indeed,  luxuriant 
trees,  clinging  to  the  mountain-side  in  the  very  path  of  the  ava- 
lanche ?  Mino-led  with  the  midnio;ht  roar  of  the  cascade,  is  this 
the  tinkle  of  caravan  bells  ?  And  now,  was  that  shout  the  lan- 
guage of  friends,  or  the  Arabic  of  a  Moslem  ?  Is  not  this  all  a 
dream  ?  How  strange  the  reality  !  Alone  with  those  not  one 
of  whom  knew  a  word  of  my  native  language,  climbing,  by  star- 
light, the  mountain-passes  of  Kurdistan  I 

"  As  the  moon  rose  we  were  still  climbing,  rising  to  the  ma- 
jestic mountain-tops ;  now  at  the  edge  of  a  cliff  where  a  fall 
would  have  been  death,  our  horses  and  mules  panting  as  they 
struggled  up  ;  again,  a  horse  falling,  fortunately  into  the  path- 
way, and  not  over  the  precipice ;  and  anon  gazing  down  without 
giddiness  at  a  distant  cascade,  tumbling  into  an  abyss  so  pro- 
found that  no  sound  struggled  up  to  us  even  in  the  stillness  of 
night.  In  four  hours  we  must*  have  ascended  twenty-eight  hun- 
dred feet,  to  the  grandeur  of  the  home  of  eagles  and  the  storm." 

"  Just  here,"  says  Dr.  Grant,  "  I  met  our  messenger  from 
Mosul,  returning  with  letters  from  Oroomiah,  —  an  unlooked-for 
feast  in  such  a  place.  I  gave  him  a  note  to  the  dear  friends  I 
had  left,  which  he  carried  in  safety ;  but  the  next  I  heard  of  him 
he  was  killed,  by  the  Kurds,  on  the  very  road  I  then  passed  over 
unharmed.  After  one  more  look  at  the  plains  of  Mesopotamia 
and  Assyria,  from  the  top  of  Sar  Hasan  Bey,  I  arrived,,  by  a 


224  DR.     G  11  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

gradual  descent,  at  the  town."  This  occupies  a  strong  position, 
with  the  river  flowing  round  the  north  and  west,  between 
steep,  rocky  banks.  A  ravine  and  embankment  protects  the 
remaining  sides,  and  the  whole  is  defended  by  ramparts  and 
towers,  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  any  attack  of  the  neighboring 
Kurds.  As  one  looks  up,  however,  from  the  river,  the  flat- 
roofed  houses,  rising  tier  above  tier,  like  seats  in  an  amphi- 
theatre, exf>ose  the  whole  town  to  the  eye,  and  the  cannon  of 
more  civilized  invaders.  The  population  may  be  nearly  a  thou- 
sand houses,  of  which  about  fifty  are  Jews',  with  whom  Dr. 
Grant  conversed  freely  in  the  Nestorian  language.  The  chief 
—  a  brother  of  the  famous  Koor  Bey  —  did  not  deign  to  notice 
the  doctor's  firman,  or  even  treat  him  with  common  civility. 
After  sitting  two  or  three  hours  outside  the  room  where  he  was, 
he  says,  "  I  was  glad  to  get  away,  rejoicing  that,  unworthy  as  I 
was  to  suffer  for  Christ,  all  this  scorn  was  poured  upon  me  for 
his  sake."  A  caravan  was  just  leaving  for  Persia,  and  he  was 
only  too  happy  to  join  it  at  once,  and  leave  the  place.  They 
encamped  some  four  miles  out,  in  the  open  air ;  and,  as  the 
horses  were  huddled  together  for  fear  of  thieves,  he  was  in 
danger  of  being  trampled  on  by  them  in  his  sleep. 

He  reached  Sidek  June  11,  which  Mr.  Ainsworth  thinks  was 
a  fortified  post,  on  the  royal  road  from  Nineveh  to  Ecbatana. 
Several  Jewish  families  have  lived  here  from  time  immemorial. 
They  are  simple  and  open-hearted,  and  received  both  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  joyfully.  The  'latter  they  had  never  seen  be- 
fore, but  promised  to  read  it  carefully.  He  had  a  long  conver- 
sation with  them  in  the  Nestorian  dialect;  and  when  he  left 
they  followed  him  some  distance  on  the  road,  and  gave  him  their 
parting  blessing. 

Next  morning  his  Kurdish  host  sent  two  men  to  escort  him 
safe  into  Persia,  —  a  favor  all  the  more  welcome,  as  murders  had 
just  been  committed  on  the  road,  and  Persia  and  Turkey  seemed 
on  the  eve  of  war.     About  half  an  hour  from  the  village  he 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  225 

came  to  a  stone  pillar,  with  cuneiform  inscriptions,  which  had  not 
before,  to  his  knowledge,  been  visited  by  Europeans.  Mr.  Ains- 
worth  missed  it  bj  looking  for  it  at  the  village  below.  It  had 
apparently  been  broken  off  at  the  top,  and  was  inscribed  only  on 
the  side  facing  E.S.E.  Next  morning  he  reached  the  large 
pillar  at  the  top  of  the  mountain.  His  guide  would  hardly 
.  suffer  him  to  dismount,  and  the  caravan  called  out  to  him  not  to 
stop ;  but  he  examined  it,  nevertheless,  till  the  guide  would  wait 
no  longer.  As  Major  Hawlinson  was  hurried  off  in  the  same 
manner,  and  it  was  not  even  shown  to  Mr.  Ainsworth,  Dr.  Grant 
conjectured  that  the  people  fear  lest  Europeans  discover  in  the 
inscription  a  claim  to  the  country,  as  they  say  it  is  written  in 
the  language  of  the  Franks.  The  character,  so  far  as  he  could 
judge,  was  the  same  which  he  had  seen  at  Van,  and  similar  to  that 
he  saw  afterwards  at  Khorsabad.  But,  as  the  difference  is  not 
readily  apparent  to  an  inexperienced  observer,  he  does  not  speak 
decidedly.  Major  Rawlinson  says  the  pillar  he  saw  faced  to  the 
east,  and  was  inscribed  only  on  one  face  ;  but  this  faced  south- 
east, or  even  more  south  than  east,  and  was  plainly  inscribed  on 
both  sides,  having  a  line  or  two  less  on  one  side  than  the  other. 
The  stone  was  of  a  light  blue  or  greenish  color, — hence  the 
name  Keli  Shin  (Green  Pillar),  —  very  hard  and  compact;  and, 
though  exposed  to  the  storms  of  more  than  two  thousand  years, 
the  inscriptions  are  so  well  preserved  that,  under  favorable  cir- 
cmnstances,  they  might  be  copied,  by  an  experienced  hand,  with 
scarce  the  loss  of  a  letter. 

He  spent  the  night  previous  under  the  shelter  of  some  rocks, 
at  an  elevation,  by*  boiling  point  thermometer,  of  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  feet ;  and,  judging  the  ascent  thence  to  the  sum- 
mit to  be  fifteen  hundred  more,  he  estimated  the  pass  to  be,  in 
round  numbers,  ten  thousand  feet  high.  There  was  much  more 
snow,  however,  on  the  Jelu  mountain,  a  month  later,  the  year 
before.  Still,  even  here  he  crossed  a  torrent  on  a  bridge  of 
snow,  far  below  last  night's  encampment ;  and  in  the  morning 
19 


22t)  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

he  found  the  little  rills  frozen,  and  the  glaciers  so  extensive  and 
slippery,  it  was  really  hazardous  to  cross  them.  He  describes 
the  view  from  the  summit  as  surpassingly  sublime.  "  To  the 
south  and  west  a  vast  sea  of  mountains  was  spread  before  me, — 
wave  rolling  on  wave,  and  here  and  there  bursting  in  foam, — 
for  such  appeared  the  snowy  summits  glistening  in  the  morning 
light.  The  vast  plain  of  Mesopotamia  stretched  in  the  distance 
further  than  the  eye  could  reach ;  and  in  the  opposite  direction 
the  Lake  of  Oroomiah  sparkled  in  the  sun,  apparently  just  below 
me.  I  had  been  familiar  with  its  beautiful  outline  for  so  many 
years,  that,  all  at  once,  in  these  wilds,  1  seemed  to  have  met  the 
face  of  a  friend.  The  sight  was  as  exhilarating  as  the  sight  of 
home ;  and,  but  for  the  longer  journey  before  me,  my  toilsome 
pilgrimage  would  have  seemed  almost  over. 

"  Hastening  down  the  mountain,  I  was  glad  to  pass  safely  the 
last  camp  of  the  nomad  Kurds,  who  rob  the  traveller  here  with 
entire  impunity.  They  are  too  numerous  to  be  subdued,  except 
by  a  large  army ;  and  the  approach  of  that  allow^s  them  time  to 
flee  to  fastnesses  that  defy  pursuit.  They  commit  the  most  dar- 
ing robberies  just  before  changing  their  quarters  in  spring  and 
autumn,  as  at  those  times  they  can  best  make  good  their  escape." 

Once  out  of  danger,  he  hurried  on  before  the  caravan,  forded 
the  Ghedar,  and,  crossing  a  rich  alluvial  plain,  entered  Ushnei, 
and  was  hospitably  entertained  by  one  of  its  fourteen  Nestorian 
families.  These  form  the  remnant  of  a  large  Christian  popula- 
tion in  ancient  times.  It  was  formerly  a  metropolitan  see;  and 
one  of  its  incumbents  aided  in  the  ordination  of  the  Patriarch 
Jabailaha,  in  1282.  There  are  thirty  families  of  Jews  here, 
speaking,  as  usual,  the  language  of  the  Nestorians.  To  both 
sects  Dr.  Grant  gave  portions  of  the  Bible ;  and  the  Jews,  after 
some  hesitation,  promised  to  read  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as 
the  Old.  "Wherever  he  went,  he  found  more  readers  among 
them  than  among  the  Nestorians;  and  attributed  it  to  their 
habits  of  trade,  compelling  them  to  be  able  to  keep  accounts. 


TrIOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  227 

In  the  morning,  an  unusual  number  of  the  sick,  lame  and 
blind,  crowded  around,  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  the  old  Hekim 
Sahib,  of  Oroomiah,  was  there.  Even  the  harem  of  the  governor 
honored  him  with  a  visit  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  morning  sent 
him  a  plentiful  breakfast,  from  their  own  table,  that  tasted  all 
the  better  for  the  hard  fare  of  the  journey. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  he  could  get  away,  as  the 
governor  detained  him  to  escort  an  instalment  of  tribute  to 
his  superior  at  Oroomiah.  Two  or  three  foot-soldiers  were  left 
behind,  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  reach  of  the  Kurds ;  and 
at  midnight,  as  it  was  too  dark  to  cross  the  Barandooz,  he  slept 
in  an  adjoining  village  till  morning;  then,  quickening  his  pace,' 
over  a  plain  that  seemed  more  beautiful  than  ever,  —  passing 
now  by  fields  almost  ready  for  the  reaper,  and  now  by  vineyards 
and  gardens,  meeting  with  familiar  faces  under  the  trees  by  the 
roadside,  — he  was  soon  among  his  loved  associates  in  the  mission- 
house.  It  was  pleasant  to  meet  so  many  dear  Nestorian  friends, 
after  more  than  two  years'  absence ;  but  more  delightful  to  enjoy 
Christian  fellowship  with  missionary  brethren,  after  so  long  a 
sojourn  in  the  tents  of  Kedar. 

Next  day  the  mission  assembled,  and  resolved  unanimously  to 
send  one  of  their  number  with  him  into  the  mountains.  Mr. 
Stocking,  who  had  been  much  interested  in  the  enterprise  from 
the  first,  was  chosen,  and  two  of  the  best  native  helpers  ap- 
pointed to  accompany  them.  They  hoped  thus  to  do  much  by 
way  of  preaching,  and  so  lay  a  broad  foundation  for  future 
labors.  Dr.  Grant  desired  too  to  make  the  most  of  access  to 
the  mountains  while  it  lasted.  He  writes,  "  The  cordial  inter- 
est with  which  all  the  brethren  entered  into  my  plans  will  ever 
be  one  of  the  most  pleasant  memories  of  my  missionary  life." 
Dr.  Wright  says  of  him,  at  this  time,  "  Amid  his  active  prepara- 
tions for  his  mountain  campaign,  with  the  heavy  cares  of  that 
enterprise  upon  him,  and  with  the  most  perplexing  questions  of 


228  DR-     GRANT      AND     THE 

duty  often  arising,  his  spirits  were  buoyant,  his  stejD  was  elastic, 
his  energy  untiring." 

As  soon  as  he  could  make  his  arrangements  they  set  out  for 
Salmas,  taking  letters  from  the  governor  and  some  of  the 
nobles  of  Oroomiah  to  Yahya  Khan  and  the  emir.  Providen- 
tially they  found  them  both  at  the  favorite  castle  of  Charreh, 
which  is  perched  on  the  summit  of  an  isolated  rock,  near  the 
river  of  the  same  name.  The  green  banks  of  the  stream  were 
now  dotted  with  the  tents  of  more  than  a  dozen  chiefs,  assem- 
bled to  meet  the  emir.  He  had  come  in  state,  with  two  hundred 
attendants,  at  the.  instance  of  the  Persian  government,  w^hich 
sought  his  aid  in  the  expected  war,  and  swore,  on  the  Koran, 
perpetual  allegiance  to  the  Shah,  who,  in  turn,  promised  support 
against  the  Sultan.  Thus  ended  his  alliance  with  the  Porte, 
formed  two  years  before,  in  hope  of  immediate  aid  to  subdue  the 
Nestorians.  He  was  now  about  to  assist  Ismael  Pasha  in  the 
recovery  of  Amadia  from  the  Turks. 

In  such  circumstances.  Dr.  Grant  was  cheered  to  find  the  emir 
still  regard  him  as  his  physician  and  friend,  and  urge  him 
to  accompany  him  to  Julamerk,  whence  he  promised  to  send 
him  in  a  few  days  to  Tyary.  Suleiman  Bey  earnestly  sec- 
onded the  request,  and  proposed  to  go  there  with  him  in  person. 
Dr.  Grant's  plans  and  objects  were  now  fully  explained  to 
the  emir,  in  the  presence  of  the  Khan,  who  confirmed  each 
statement  from  his  own  observation  of  missionary  labors  at 
Oroomiah ;  and  in  his  presence  Nilrullah  Bey  promised  to  pro- 
tect Dr.  Grant  and  his  associates,  and  permit  them  to  erect 
buildings  for  themselves  and  their  schools,  as  they  should  be 
needed. 

The  warlike  aspect  of  the  mountains  looked  forbidding.  But 
at  a  time  when  war  w^as  threatened  at  every  point,  those  secluded 
valleys  seemed  to  promise  as  safe  an  asylum  as  any  other  part 
of  the  country,  and  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  emir  encour- 
aged them  to  proceed. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  229 

Just  at  this  crisis,  the  alarming  illness  of  a  child  of  Mr.  Hol- 
laday  recalled  Dr.  Grant  to  Oroomiah  ;  and  hoping  thus  to  con- 
sult with  the  mission,  and  return  in  time  to  go  in  with  the  emir, 
he  immediately  set  out.  By  riding  all  night,  he  reached  his 
patient,  sixty  miles  distant,  in  twelve  hours ;  though  he  was  sick 
when  he  mounted,  and  continued  to  grow  worse  on  the  road. 
Care  and  anxiety,  joined  to  his  old  enemy,  the  malaria  of  the 
plain,  doubtless  occasioned  his  illness,  and  showed  that  though 
his  indomitable  energy  kept  him  from  a  sick  bed,  yet  he  was  by 
no  means  well.  Medicine  and  the  kind  nursing  of  friends  soon 
afforded  him  relief;  and,  though  for  a  time  the  life  of  the  child 
hung  in  suspense,  he  too  was  soon  so  far  out  of  danger  that  Dr. 
Grant  was  about  to  resume  the  enterprise,  when  Mr.  Stocking 
was  taken  ill,  though  not  so  sick  that  he  might  not  profit  by  the 
journey. 

On  the  14th  of  July  the  two  missionaries  rode  twelve  miles 
to  the  river  Nazloo,  one  of  the  four  large  streams  that  water  the 
plain,  and  were  hospitably  entertained  in  the  house  of  Priest 
Yohanan,  who,  from  being  a  drunkard,  had  risen  to  be  a  most 
valuable  native  assistant.  Their  little  chamber  over  the  gate, 
the  only  upper  room  in  the  village,  might  have  been  of  the  size 
of  Elisha's ;  but,  small  as  it  was,  it  afforded  the  retirement  a 
traveller  in  the  East  knows  how  to  prize.  Next  day  they  halted 
two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  twenty  miles,  and  were  ex- 
ceedingly refreshed  by  bathing  in  the  lake.  They  found  it 
impossible  to  sink  lower  than  the  shoulders  in  an  upright  posi- 
tion, and  a  saline  incrustation  was  left  on  the  skin  from  the 
excessive  saltness  of  the  water.  As  they  passed  along,  the 
people  Avere  just  gathering  their  harvest,  a  work  finished  at 
Mosul  nearly  six  weeks  before ;  while  on  the  high  lands  round 
Julamerk  wheat  was  still  green,  on  the  26th  of  August,  1844. 

They  spent  a  quiet  Sabbath  at  the  house  of  Mar  Yohanan,  then 
absent  in  the  United  States.  And  here  Dr.  Grant  was  again 
"threatened  with  fever ;  but  a  timely  use  of  medicine,  and  two 
19* 


230  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

days'  repose  effectually  relieved  him.  Mr.  Stocking  preached 
twice,  on  the  Sabbath,  to  a  congregation  assembled  under  the 
spreading  branches  of  a  walnut-tree.  The  aged  father  of  the 
bishop  was  one  of  his  most  attentive  hearers.  "  What  a  change," 
says  Dr.  Grant,  "  will  there  be,  when,  instead  of  prayers  in  an 
unknown  tongue,  this  whole  region  shall  be  supplied  with  a  pious 
and  well-educated  native  ministry !  This  is  our  aim  ;  and,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  we  hope  to  attain  it." 

After  a  hot  bath  at  the  sulphur  springs  of  Isty  Su  (warm 
water),  temperature  106°,  they  reach  Oolah  on  the  18th,  where 
the  mission  had  a  school,  under  the  care  of  an  aged  priest.  Un- 
happily, they  had  to  tell  one  of  his  sons,  who  acted  as  his  assist- 
ant, that  neither  they  nor  their  patrons  in  America  could  employ 
one  given  to  wine.  He  appeared  humbled,  and  Dr.  Grant  hoped 
that  he  might  reform,  as  others  more  confirmed  in  the  habit  had 
already  done.  The  school,  in  other  respects,  was  doing  well, 
and  was  much  needed  in  a  district  containing  more  Chaldeans 
than  all  the  rest  of  Persia.  They  number  two  hundred  houses, 
mostly  in  Khosrova  ;  and  in  their  catechisms,  printed  at  Rome, 
the  second  commandment,  as  usual,  is  omitted.  The  Armenians 
of  the  district,  numbering  about  one  thousand  houses,  earnestly 
desired  schools  and  books. 

At  Khosrova,  where  they  went  next  day.  Dr.  Grant  had  often 
fomid  a  pleasant  home  with  a  cousin  of  Mar  Shimon,  wife  of 
Waly  Khan,  the  last  heir  to  the  throne  of  Georgia.  Before  their 
marriage,  they  not  only  had  not  seen  one  another,  but  each  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  other's  language.  In  former  visits  he 
had  found  them  comfortably  supported  by  a  pension  from  the 
Persian  government.  But  now  she  was  trying  to  sell  the  few  things 
she  yet  possessed,  to  procure  the  means  of  returning  to  her  moun- 
tain home.  Her  husband  had  died  at  Teheran,  and  the  first 
n^vs  she  had  of  his  decease  was  the  withdrawal  of  his  pension, 
thus  plunging  her  at  once  in  widowhood  and  want. 

Her  brother  had  married  the  younger  sister  of  Mar  Yohanan ; 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR lANS.  231 

and,  though  he  too  never  saw  his  bride  till  she  became  such,  he 
certainly  had  no  reason  to  complain  ;  for  the  bishop,  stimulated 
by  the  example  of  the  missionary  ladies,  had  taught  her  to  read, 
and  Dr.  Grant  describes  her  as  a  most  interesting  and  amiable 
young  lady.  He  says  that  he  seldom  was  more  delighted  than 
when,  seated  in  a  chair ^  in  her  house,  he  listened  to  her  readingr 
the  publications  of  the  mission  press. 

These  two  ladies,  and  those  mentioned  in  page  139,  are  all  he 
ever  met  with  who  could  read,  except  those  taught  in  our 
schools ;  and,  as  such,  he  always  took  a  special  interest  in  their 
welfare.  Others  hereafter  may  excel  them  m  acquirements,  but 
the  two  sisters  of  Mar  Shimon,  and  his  cousin  at  Khosrova, 
like  David's  worthies,  will  always  be  the  first  three.^ 

As  Mr.  Stocking  grew  worse,  instead  of  better,  it  was  now 
Thought  best  for  him  to  return  ;  a  circumstance  the  more  trying 
to  Dr.  Grant,  as  both  the  native  assistants  had  become  so  alarmed 
at  the  dangers  before  them,  that  they  also  declined  to  go  further. 
It  was  now  a  trying  question  to  him  whether  he  also  should  turn 
back  with  the  rest.  The  Kurds  on  cither  side  of  the  frontier 
were  already  conmiitting  robberies,  in  anticipation  of  the  war, 
and  the  future  looked  dark  enough.  But,  after  weighing  all  the 
circumstances,  he  felt  that  the  valuable  opportunities  which 
might  otherwise  be  lost  justified  him  in  going  forward.  True, 
there  was  risk  ;  but  it  seemed  better  to  risk  a  little  more  than 
incur  the  danger  of  losing  all  the  ground  already  gained.  The 
tenfpest  seems  to  have  been  made  to  beat  upon  him  on  pui-pose 
to  illustrate  the  safety  of  the  man  who  trusts  in  the  Most  High. 
At  the  very  last  moment,  he  succeeded  in  getting  the  courageous 
Mar  Yoosuf  for  a  companion.  It  was  a  good  arrangement. 
whether  we  consider  the  dangers  to  be  met,  or  his  ofl&cial  intlu- 
ence  in  favor  of  the  truth. 

Just  a^i  this  time,    Dr.   Wright  and  Mr.  Breath  providen- 

*  2  Samuel  25. 


232  IMi  .     <^.  11  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  U  L 

tially  appeared  to  aid  their  counsels  ;  and  at  an  early  huiir,  Jiil;y 
21,  in  an  iinier  apartment,  the  missionaries  aifectionately  com- 
mended each  other  to  Him  who  had  promised  to  be  with  them 
alw^ays,  then  mounted  and  rode  off  in  opposite  directions, — 
they  to  their  quiet  home  and  peaceful  labors,  and  Dr.  Grant 
and  the  bishop  to  the  wild  mountains  of  the  yet  wilder  Kurdr-. 
He  now  shaped  his  course  for  the  castle  of  Charreh,  with  the 
fortified  city  of  Dilman  in  the  rear,  and  the  Sheher  (city),  as 
old  Salmas  is  usually  called,  on  the  right.^  The  remains  of 
two  minarets  are  visible  outside  the  town. 

He  now  left  the  plain,  covered  wdth  villages  embowered  in 
gardens  among  fruitful  fields,  and  descended  a  steep  ledge  of 
igneous  rock  to  the  vale  of  the  Charreh.  Ascending  this,  he 
had  a  wall  of  columnar  basalt  on  his  right,  rising  abruptly  about 
two  hundred  feet.  Some  of  the  columns  lay  in  fragments  in  his 
path.  There  were  numerous  grottoes,  and  he  had  heard  of 
inscriptions ;  but  those  pointed  out  were  mere  linear  irregulari- 
ties in  the  rock.  At  a  sudden  turn  in  the  road  the  castle  came 
in  sight,  forming  a  very  picturesque  object  in  the  quiet  landscape. 
This  is  the  ancestral  estate  of  Yahya  Khan,  who,  besides  being 
Governor  of  Salmas,  is  chief  of  a  branch  of  the  Hakkary  tribe. 
He  married  a  sister  of  the  emir,  and  gave  him  one  of  his  ow^n  in 
return.  Another  is  in  the  harem  of  the  Shah.  And  this 
double  alliance,  together  with  his  reputation  for  integrity,  gives 
him  great  influence  with  both  Persians  and  Kiirds.  Hence  his 
success  in  negotiation,  as  in  the  instance  already  described. 

The  emir  had  gone ;  but  the  Khan,  who  had  been  expecting 
Dr.  Grant,  was  ready  at  once  to  speed  him  on  his  v^ay.  At  a 
private  interview,  his  guest  asked  whether  he  had  any  fears  for  his 
safety  with  the  emir,  or  whether  the  latter  would  allow  him  to  go 
to  Mar  Shimon,  as  he  had  promised.     In  reply,  the  Khan  assured 

*  Mr.  Ainswortli  strangely  confounds  the  two,  notwithstanding  Dilman 
is  modern,  and  old  Salmas,  though  now  a  mere  village,  still  retains  the 
name  of  its  better  days. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  233 

him  there  was  no  doubt  of  the  chief's  personal  friendship;  and 
oflfered  to  write  to  him,  either  to  allow  him  to  carry  on  his  mis- 
sionary labors,  or  send  him  back  in  safety  if  he  was  opposed  to 
them.  A  certain  anxiety  manifested  by  the  Khan  in  reference 
to  his  journey  prompted  Dr.  Grant  to  make  this  inquiry.  But 
he  explai  led  it  by  telling  him  that  the  Persian  nomads  had  plun- 
dered th*}  Turkish  frontier,  for  which  retaliation  was  threatened, 
and  that  m  this  account  he  felt  uneasy. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

FO  7RTH     JOURNEY     THROUGH     THE    MOUNTAINS ADVENTURE    AMONG     THE 

.'OMAD    KURDS KANDI  KILEESEH  MINERAL     SPRINGS KURDISH    IN- 

HOSPITALITY   AND    MURDERS TRAVELS    WITH     THE     EMIR NESTORIANS 

OF    TALL CAMP     IN    TEHOMA JOURNEY    TO    JELU A    NIGHT    ON     THE 

MOUNTAINS NESTORIAN     TELEGRAPH BASS BLOOD     FEUD     AND     RE- 
CONCILIATION  KURDISH  LIFE  IN  CAMP TEHOMA AVALANCHES — NES- 

TOKIAN      COOKING  TEIOUGIITS       ON     PEACE MEDICAL      PIJACTICE  A 

NARROW     AVAY HEART     OF    THE     MOUNTAINS HEIYO     THE     OUTLAW — • 

MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  BRIDGES LIFE  IN  ZOZAN RETURN  TO  ASHITHA 

POLITICS HBRTUSH    CHIEF MISSION-HOUSE EMIR'S     PERMISSION     TO 

BUILD FAILURE     OF    EXPEDITION    AGAINST    AMADIA SYRIAC     DEED     OF 

REAL   ESTATE. 

Dr.  Grant  was  on  his  way  by  early  dawn  on  the  22d,  with 
two  rough-looking  Kurds  from  the  sources  of  the  Zab,  and  soon 
comprehended  the  cause  of  the  Khan's  uneasiness.  The  caravan 
was  again  interrupted,  as  on  his  former  entrance,  but  for 
another  reason.  The  Kurds  near  Van,  with  the  Turkish  soldiers 
there,  were  actually  on  their  march  to  inflict  the  threatened 
retribution ;  and  this  news,  brought  in  by  their  scouts,  had  sot 
all  the  guilty  tribes  in  motion  on  the  mountains  before  him.  It 
was  one  of  those  scenes  not  to  be  forgotten  by  the  observer, 
though  no  language  can  describe  it  to  another.  The  road  was 
literally  thronged  with  the  frightened  fugitives,  —  men,  women 
and  children,  crowded  on  each  other,  terror  visible  in  every 
feature.  The  little  ones,  packed  on  the  loaded  animals  or  slung 
in  large  sacks  fastened  together  across  the  backs  of  the  cattle, 
were  crying  as  they  went.  Women,  on  foot,  urged,  with  cries 
and  blows,  the  slow-footed  beasts  loaded  with  their  baggage, 
leaving  husbands  and  brother-  to  drive  the  flocks.  Some,  whose 
loads  had  fallen  in   the  road,  ^ere  jogged  and  jostled  by  the 


DR.     G  U  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E     N  E  S  T  0  il  I  A  N  S  .  235 

vidrA,  iioue  caring  to  stop  long  enough  to  help  them.  Then  the 
ilocks  came  in  from  every  side,  compelling  the  little  party  to 
wade  among  them  as  through  a  flood.  But  it  was  worth  deten- 
tion to  witness  the  scene.  A  moving  mass  spread  far  and  wide 
over  the  hills,  presenting  the  appearance  of  an  animated  land- 
scape. At  the  first  camps  the  tents  were  still  standing;  further 
on,  ail  was  bustle,  striking  and  loading  them  on  bullocks,  don- 
keys and  mules ;  and  still  further,  all  hurried  forward  together, 
like  a  vast  army  in  its  flight. 

As  they  met  clan  after  clan,  poor  13aho,  bold  as  he  was, 
begged  to  return.  But  his  master  pressed  steadily  on,  soothing 
his  fears,  the  while,  by  suggesting  expedients  they  might  resort 
to,  even  should  they  meet  the  army.  After  stemming  the  thickest 
of  the  crowd,  they  quickened  their  pace,  and  beyond  Khaneh  Sar 
had  the  road  almost  entirely  to  themselves.  Till  then  his 
Kurdish  guides  had  been  very  civil.  But  now  they  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  of  a  stray  colt  that  followed  them,  and 
made  it  their  prize.  But  Dr.  Grant  rode  forward  to  the  last 
party  they  met,  and  told  them  how  the  matter  stood ;  and,  though 
his  guides  stoutly  maintained  that  the  colt  belonged  to  them,  thej^ 
were  compelled  to  give  it  up,  and  vented  their  anger  on  the 
doctor  for  his  interference. 

It  showed  something  of  the  courage  of  faith,  to  maintain  his 
integrity  at  such  a  time,  and  incur  the  wrath  of  lawless  men  in 
their  own  strongholds,  rather  than,  by  becoming  party  to  a 
theft,  incur  the  wrath  of  God. 

This  pass,  at  an  elevation  of  only  eight  thousand  feet,  is  com- 
paratively easy ;  but,  like  all  the  rest,  is  dangerous  from  the 
roving  freebooters  who  frequent  the  extensive  pastures  in  the 
vicinity.  The  waters  flow  from  this  range,  the  Sar  Albakh,  to 
lakes  Van  and  Oroomiah,  the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  Persian 
Gulf.  As  the  party  descended  towards  the  Zab,  the  father's  heart 
was  moved  by  the  sight  of  the  spot  where,  two  years  before,  his 
little  son  had  slept  in  his  bosom  amid  the  snow.     At  Kandi  Ki- 


•J3()  BR.     G  R  A  X  T     AND     T  H  E 

leeseh  he  was  the  guest  of  a  petty  chief,  in  a  castle  that  over- 
looks the  Zub.  He  visited  the  Armenian  church,  which  gives 
name  to  the  place ;  and  found  it  built  of  stone,  deeply  furrowed 
by  the  mountain  storms.  It  is  one  hundred  feet  by  sixty,  and 
is  surmounted  by  two  domes  and  a  bell.  Unlike  other  buildings 
in  the  region,  it  has  a  sloping  roof,  with  regular  gable-ends,  and 
covered  with  stone  instead  of  tiles.  The  vartabeds  assured  him 
it  was  seventeen  hundred  years  old  (they  told  Mr.  Ainsworth  six- 
teen hundred)  ;  and,  professing  to  derive  their  authority  from  the 
ancient  Armenian  inscriptions,  they  point  out  the  tomb  of  the 
apostle  Bartholomew,  who  is  said  to  have  preached  or  suffered 
martyrdom  on  this  very  spot.  The  church  is  surrounded  with  a 
wall  and  bastions,  and'has  an  outer  and  inner  court,  with  rooms 
round  about  them.  Its  lands  support  the  clergy,  and  pay  a  tax 
to  the  Bey  ;  but  there  are  few  Armenians  in  the  vicinity. 

N^xt  day  his  road  followed  down  the  Zab,  —  here  called 
Albakh,  from  the  name  of  the  district.  This  is  a  large,  irregu- 
lar opening  among  the  mountains,  and,  from  its  ruined  villages, 
castles  and  churches,  seems  once  to  have  been  densely  peopled  ; 
now  it  is  mostly  given  up  to  the  nomad  tribes.  Bash  Kala,  the 
only  village  of  note  that  it  contains,  three  hours  after  leaving 
Kandi  Kileeseh,  stood  a  few  miles  to  the  right,  his  course  being 
at  first  west-south-west  and  south-west,  then  south  and  south- 
east, and  south-west  again.  Two  hours  further  he  passed  a 
number  of  springs  ;  some  as  high  as  eighty  and  ninety  degrees, 
Fahrenheit ;  others  cold  and  effervescing  like  a  soda-fountain,  or 
hissing  down  among  the  crevices  of  the  rocks.  In  one  place 
they  had  deposited  a  ridge  of  calcareous  tufa,  about  two  hundred 
yards  long  and  twenty  feet  high.  The  springs  occasionally 
change  their  place,  and  he  sought  in  vain  for  six  that  he  had 
seen  in  a  row  on  his  former  visit.  He  was  even  more  interested, 
however,  in  the  little  companions  of  his  childhood,  "  the  humble- 
bees;'  that  here,  for  the  first  time  in  the  East,  he  saw  gathering 
honey  from  the  red  clover-blossoms  by  the  roadside.     These, 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  9  .  287 

almost  as  rare  in  that  country  as  the  industrious  in^jects  that 
rifled  their  sweets,  grew  wild  amid  a  variety  of  beautiful  flowers. 

Passing  the  Nestorian  hamlet  of  Atis,  where  he  ate  some 
black  bread  and  yoghoort,  he  arrived,  seven  p.  m.,  at  the  Kurd- 
ish village  of  Zarany  ;  and  there  he  had  to  sleep  before  the  door, 
after  begging  in  vain  for  a  shelter  from  the  cold.  He  could 
scarce  get  anything  eatable  for  man  or  beast ;  but  was  thankful 
■to  leave,  next  morning,  with  an  empty  stomach,  l-ather  than  fare 
worse. 

Two  hours  further  on,  they  were  told  that  a  Persian  caravan, 
from  the  orpiment  mines,  had  been  plundered,  and  several  of  the 
men  killed,  just  before  them.  Soon  one  of  the -dead  bodies  was 
carried  past,  and  Baho  again  begged  him  not  to  rush  into  the 
fire  where  others  had  been  burned ;  but  he  knew  there  was  a 
fire  behind  as  well  as  before,  and  that,  ere  this,  retreat  v/as  cut 
off  by  the  invading  army.  He  judged,  too,  —  and  it  shows  the 
accuracy  of  his  observation,  —  that,  as  the  deed  occurred  in  the 
night,  the  robbers  had  ere  this  fled  elsewhere  with  their  plunder. 
So,  trusting  in  God,  he  rode  on,  and  before  night  was  safe  with 
old  friends  in  Kochannes.  This  former  abode  of  Mar  Shimon  is 
beautifully  situated,  in  a  level  upland  valley  ;  and,  except  the 
opening  by  which  he  entered,  is  surrounded  by  a  wilderness  of 
mountains, -whose  melting  snows  pour  down  a  plentiful  supply  of 
the  purest  water.  Finding  it  too  much  exposed  to  his  enemies, 
the  Patriarch,  years  ago,  left  this  pleasant  home  of  his  predeces- 
sors and  removed  to  Diss,  w^here  he  could  be  better  defended  by 
his  warlike  clans.  This  increased  the  jealousy  of  the  emir,  and 
resulted  in  the  invasion  of  the  year  before,  when  the  house  of 
the  Patriarch  was  burned,  with  the  loss  of  everything  he  could 
not  carry  away  in  a  hasty  flight  by  night. 

From  this  place,  more  than  six  thousand  feet  high,  he  gradu- 
ally ascended  another  thousand,  if  not  more,  to  Berchulla,  the 
summer  residence  of  the  emir,  where  he  was  kindly  received,  and 
quartered  in  one  of  the  huts,  built  of  loose  stone,  and  covered 
20 


2o8  •        l>  11  .     «i  K  A  N  T     A  N  D     THE 

with  buLighs.     It  Avas  the  same  place  where  Dr.  Smith  and  Mr. 
Laurie  visited  liiiii,  iu  August,  18-i4. 

Isinael  Pasha  was  here,  about  to  leave  with  Suleiman  Bey, 
to  enlist  the  Patriarch  against  the  Turks,  and  they  proposed  his 
going  with  them ;  but  he  gladly  seized  on  the  illness  of  the  erair 
as  a  pretext  to  avoid  it,  lest  he  should  become  entangled  in  their 
political  movements,  —  especially  as  the  latter  promised  to  send 
him  on  to  Tyary  as  soon  as  he  himself  should  reach  Tehoma. 

At  the  emir's  suggestion,  he  now  exchanged  his  Frank  dres.'j 
for  their  own  costume,  and  soon  was  seated,  "  a  la  Kurd,"  dip- 
ping his  hand  with  him  in  the  dish,  to  good  purpose,  if  not  with 
all  the  finished  grace  of  an  oriental.  At  the  chief's  table  he  had 
no  occasion  to  complain  of  hard  fare,  though  the  Kurds,  in  gen- 
eral, are  simple  in  their  diet,  and  far  more  temperate  than  either 
the  Persians  or  Turks  in  the  matter  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
They  were  surprised  and  pleased  to  find  that  in  this  last  the 
doctor  agreed  with  them ;  for,  though  none  are  before  them  in 
zeal  for  Islam,  and  they  do  not  scruple  to  call  the  Sultan  himself 
a  Giaour,  for  his  European  innovations,  yet  they  appreciate 
consistency  of  this  kind,  and  express  great  abhorrence  of  Infi- 
delity and  Atheism. 

The  emir  set  out  for  Julamerk  July  28,  on  his  way  to  Ama- 
dia.  After  the  crowd  had  left,  Dr.  Grant  enjoyed  himself  very 
pleasantly  with  a  few  friends  that  remained,  among  them  the 
mother  of  Suleiman  Bey,  who,  from  first  to  last,  showed  her- 
self truly  friendly.  She  had  not  forgotten  little  Henry ;  and 
cautioned  his  father  against  the  treachery  of  her  people,  and 
especially  the  jealousy  of  the  emir,  —  a  trait  he  had  had  occasion 
to  notice  more  than  once.  He  had  not  forgotten  how  he  looked 
when  he  found  his  cousin  writing  a  letter  for  the  doctor  to 
Yahya  Khan,  till,  on  reading  it  himself,  he  saw  how  baseless  were 
his  suspicions.  As  they  rode  slowly  down,  he  enjoyed  the  wild 
mountain  landscape,  —  the  rough  peaks  rising  sharp  above  the 
banks  of  snow  that  glittered  on  every  side.      A  descent  of  two 


MOUNTAIN     NEST  OKI  A  NS.  239 

thousand  feet  brought  him,  in  two  hours,  to  the  castle  of  Jula- 
merk,  which  Mr.  Ainsworth  makes  five  thousand  four  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea.  Here  the  soldiers  on  guard  went  through  a 
sham-fight  before  thej  admitted  the  emir  and  suite.  It  was  near 
dusk,  and  the  repeated  volleys  fired  by  either  party,  reverberat- 
ing among  the  crags,  followed  by  a  closer  contention  with 
sword  and  shield,  presented  a  graphic  picture  of  Kurdish  w^ar- 
fare,  much  more  agreeable  than  the  reality. 

On  Friday  Niirullah  Bey  would  not  proceed,  as  it  was  his 
Sabbath ;  which  gave  Dr.  Grant  an  opportunity  to  ask  to  be 
excused  from  travelling  on  his,  to  which  he  at  once  assented. 
At  noon  he  went  to  the  mosque  in  state,  preceded  by  an  Arabian 
derwish,  fantastically  but  richly  dressed.  Friday  is  unlucky 
there,  as  well  as  here.  But  next  day,  at  noon,  all  set  foot  in 
stirrup  the  moment  the  stars  were  propitious,  except  Dr.  Grant, 
who,  thinking  more  of  comfort  than  of  the  stars,  went  on  before, 
and  waited  for  the  cavalcade  by  a  fountain  some  distance  down 
the  ravine.  From  thence  to  the  river  even  the  emir  was  com- 
pelled to  walk,  so  steep  and  dangerous  is  the  road,  though  built 
up  against  and  cut  into  the  precipice,  at  great  expense.  Across 
the  Zab  the  road  was  so  difiicult  that  even  the  mountain  mules 
could  hardly  get  on  without  their  riders ;  and  the  reflected  heat 
of  the  narrow  chasm  —  valley  there  was  none  —  was  so  intense 
that  the  emir  nearly  fainted.  A  little  peppermint  soon  revived 
him ;  but  this,  and  the  efi"ect  of  a  cup  of  tea,  on  a  similar  occa- 
sion, led  him  to  throw  out  such  hints,  that  the  doctor  began  to 
fear  he  was  enlisted  for  the  campaign,  till  he  lost  some  of  his  credit 
by  bandaging  the  arm  of  the  chief,  after  bleeding,  so  that  a  drop 
of  blood,  oozing  out,  spoiled  the  virtue  of  his  evening  prayers. 

It  was  quite  dark  before  he  reached  the  largest  and  highest 
of  the  six  Nestorian  villages  in  Tall.  As  this  district  is  small,  it 
pays  tribute  to  the  emir ;  and,  sad  as  is  the  tale,  yet  it  is  true, 
that  its  inhabitants  are,  on  this  account,  despised,  and  even 
plundered,  by  the  other  tribes  who  are  safer  from  attack.     The 


240  DR.      GRANT     AND     THE 

only  level  place  not  cultivated,  that  Dr.  Grant  could  find  for  his 
mules,  was  the  roof  of  a  dwelling,  which  formed  the  door-yard 
of  the  house  next  above.  The  people  were  miserably  poor,  but 
readily  shared  with  hiri.  what  they  had.  His  mules  fared  the 
worst,  however  ;  for  grain  is  so  scarce  in  all  the  mountains  they 
deem  it  a  sin  to  feed  it  to  beasts.  This  tribe  has  the  name  of 
being  more  rude  than  others;  but  their  country  is  so  sterile  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  and  will,  therefore,  be  hard  to  remedy. 
They  occupy  the  deep,  narrow  glen  of  a  tributary  of  the  Zab.  A 
church,  high  up  on  one  side,  is  the  only  object  worthy  of  notice ; 
and  that  was  so  difficult  to  reach,  the  doctor  did  not  visit  it. 
The  emir,  according  to  promise,  let  him  rest  here  on  the  Sabbath, 
though  to  the  former  it  was  a  day  of  feasting  and  hilarity,  — 
while  Dr.  Grant  improved  this  only  opportunity  to  do  good  to 
the  sick,  and  the  bishop  afforded  much  aid  in  directing  their 
unwilling  minds  to  the  Great  Physician. 

At  an  early  hour  on  Monday,  August  1,  they  commenced  to 
ascend  the  mountain  toward  Tehoma.  It  seemed  like  an  impas- 
sable wall,  mocking  their  approach.  The  repeated  salutes  of 
two  hundred  men  of  Tehoma,  who  claim  the  summit  as  their 
border,  echoed  and  reechoed  through  the  glen.  It  would  have 
been  easy  for  them  to  have  overwhelmed  ten  times  their  number; 
but  the  emir  had  shrewdly  selected  one-half  of  his  attendants 
from  their  chief  families,  and  in  this  and  other  ways  secured  an 
influence  which  he  knew  how  to  wield  against  the  more  powerful 
tribe  of  Tyary.  Their  waste  of  powder  —  for  they  continued 
firing  till  the  emir  reached  them  —  would  have  surprised  any 
one  who  did  not  know  that  each  man  makes  his  own,  just  as  he 
makes  his  own  shoes  and  hat,  and  produces  his  own  food  and 
tobacco,  so  that  there  is  not  a  market  or  bazaar  in  all  their 
country.  Descending  to  a  spacious  upland  valley,  far  from  any 
village,  the  emir  encamped  there,  and  made  it  the  rendezvous 
for  the  army  against  Amadia. 

Having  no  taste  fl  r  such  a  life,  Dr.  Grant  hurried  off  on  a 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR  I  AX  S.  241 

visit  to  Jelu  and  Bass.  AVith  a  guide  from  Niirnllah  B.ey,  he 
turned  to  the  north-east,  passing  two  or  three  sunnner  camps  of 
the  Nestorians.  From  the  hist  of  these  some  of  the  vilhxges  of 
Jelii  were  visible.  It  seemed  as  if  a  rapid  descent  would  bring 
him  to  the  nearest  before  sunf<ct.  So,  without  stopping  to  eat 
the  simple  fare  offered  him,  though  really  hungry,  he  pressed  on. 
But  he  found  his  guide  knew  little  about  the  way.  The  ravine 
was  so  filled  with  immense  banks  of  snoAv,  cut  perpendicularly 
by  the  torrent,  and  the  sides  w^ere  so  steep  on  either  hand,  that 
the  passage  of  mules  was  hopeless  ;  he  therefore  made  a  long 
detour  to  another,  and  sunset  found  the  party  walking  down  a 
declivity  so  steep  that  the  mules  could  hardly  follow,  and  when 
they  did  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  precipitate  all  before  them. 
They  had  never  seen  such  goats'  paths  before,  and  turned  back 
their  heads  in  silent  expostulation,  as  the  party  tried  to  drive 
where  they  dared  not  lead.  At  length  they  found  a  little  green 
sward  amid  the  snow ;  and,  as  it  was  impossible  to  go  further, 
they  stopped  there  for  the  night,  and  turned  out  the  mules  to 
graze.  "  Our  position,"  says  Dr.  Grant,  "  was  one  of  the  wildest 
possible,  awakening  emotions  of  awe  such  as  are  inspired  by  a 
storm  at  sea.  Yet  there  was  nothing  to  fear.  The  place  was 
too  desolate  and  unfrequented  even  for  robbers;  but  Grod  seemed 
present  in  his  matchless  works.  The  very  silence  seemed  full 
of  God.  It  was  a  delightful  thought  that  He  was  our  guardian  : 
in  his  presence  was  fulness  of  joy.  A  morsel  of  bitter  barley 
bread,  seasoned  with  the  sorrel  that  grew  around  us,  allayed  our 
hunger.  I  lay  down,  and  gazed  silently  on  the  dark  mountains 
towering  over  us,  and  the  starry  sky  that  seemed  to  rest  on  their 
summits ;  and  when  sleep  stole  over  me,  it  was  sweet  and 
refreshing  as  on  a  bed  of  down." 

Dawn  found  them  on  their  way  again,  and  two  hours'  climbing 

along  the  mountain  brought   them  to  Alson,  a  place  containing 

about  one  hundred  houses,  the  first  of  the  fifteen  villages  of  Jelii. 

After  breakfast  they  preached   to  the  assembled  villagers,  and 

20* 


242  DR.     «  U  A  N  T     AND     T  II  E 

then  hastened  over  the  intervening  ridges  to  the  hirger  village 
of  Z3rany,  where  they  spent  the  heat  of  the  day  in  the  same 
manr.er.  They  stopped  for  the  night  at  Mar  Ezeieh,  and  on  the 
way  had  an  illustration  of  mountain-life  quite  characteristic. 
Long  ere  they  were  near  enough  for  the  villagers  to  distinguish 
friends  from  foes,  their  watch-cry  echoed  from  cliff  to  cliff",  till, 
in  a  few  moments,  the  most  distant  shepherds  caught  the  sound, 
and  came  running,  rexdy  armed  for  the  fight.  One  band  hur- 
ried to  cut  off  their  retreat,  another  waited  to  dispute  their 
approach.  But,  as  soon  as  Dr.  Grant  was  recognized,  the 
counter-watchword  flew  as  fast,  and  all  was  quiet  as  before.  It 
explained  the  way  in  which  they  sometimes  estimate  dist-ance, 
saying  one  place  is  so  many  guns  from  another,  —  that  is,  the 
distance  at  which  the  report  of  a  gun  is  distinctly  audible,  as  the 
alarm  is  three  discharges  in  rapid  succession,  answered  by  the 
same  number,  to  assure  the  first  he  is  heard,  and  spread  the 
alarm  to  the  next.  This  custom  Dr.  Grant  had  occasion  to 
observe  afterwards  in  circumstances  much  more  exciting.  The 
present  state  of  excitement  was  occasioned  by  the  violence  of 
the  emir,  who  had  seized  one  of  their  caravans  on  its  way  from 
Aleppo,  confiscated  the  mules,  and  held  the  men  as  hostages  for 
the  payment  of  a  tribute  he  dared  not  otherwise  collect.  It 
seems  the  men  were  prisoners  in  the  castle  of  Julamerk  while 
Dr.  Grant  was  there,  and  allowed  barely  enough  of  bread  and 
water  to  sustain  life.  He  now  longed  to  deliver  them ;  and, 
finding  a  way  of  making  his  wishes  known  to  the  emir,  without 
compromising  his  political  neutrality,  he  happily  effected  their 
release.  The  matter,  however,  occasioned  a  state  of  feeling  un- 
favorable to  the  object  of  his  present  visit;  and  the  absence  of 
many  of  the  mei>,  who  had  gone  to  convoy  a  caravan,  with  grain, 
from  Gawar,  still  further  interfered  with  his  plans.  Yet,  the 
bishop  of  this  tribe  having  died  since  his  visit  last  year,  he  had 
the  pleasure  9  f  inducing  his  intended  successor,  still  in  his  teens, 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R I  A  N  S .  243 

to  go  to  the  seminary  at  Orooniiah.     He  also  distributed  some 
books,  and  made  additional  arrangements  for  schools. 

His  route  through  Bass  was  the  same  as  last  year  ;  but  a  blood 
^ud  prevented  any  of  the  men  of  Jelu  going  with  him.  All 
connnunication  between  the  two  districts  was  cut  off.  The 
bridge  had  been  demolished,  several  killed  on  both  sides,  and 
some  of  the  villages  of  Bass  destroyed.  He  labored  to  restore 
peace,  and  not  in  vain  ;  for  negotiations  immediately  commenced, 
and  in  less  than  two  months  the  whole  matter  was  amicably  set- 
tled. His  stay  in  Bass  was  short,  but  his  reception  cordial. 
The  sight  of  many  blackened  ruins,  burned  in  the  recent  quarrel, 
furnished  a  fitting  text  for  his  earnest  exhortations  to  peace  and 
harmony. 

He  rested  for  a  while  at  the  summit. of  a  mountain-pass,  gaz- 
ing Qn  one  of  those  apparently  boundless  views,  that  present  new 
beauties  the  longer  you  look.  The  women  in  a  zozan  near  by 
ofiered  him  sour  milk  from  their  goat-skins ;  but,  on  learning 
that  he  had  the  singular  taste  to  prefer  sweet  milk  to  the  acrid 
mess,  they  milked  a  sheep  for  his  special  accommodation.  Not 
far  from  here  he  crossed  a  glacier,  and,  after  sleeping  on  some 
dry  fennel  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  in  another  zozan,  returned  to 
the  emir,  after  an  absence  of  only  four  days. 

A  canopy  of  boughs,  inferior  only  to  the  emir's,  was  provided 
for  him  and  the  bishop  ;  but  so  small  there  was  barely  room  to 
lie  down,  and  so  low  they  could  stand  upright  only  in  the  mid- 
dle; and  yet  it  was  better  than  hundreds  of  Nestorian  families 
occupy  for  half  the  year. 

.Every  evening  all  the  chiefs  dined  with  the  emir,  and  Dr. 
Grant  found  no  occasion  to  desire  a  higher  seat ;  for,  as  usual, 
he  sat  next  to  his  host.  The  attendants  stepped  freely  upon  the 
table-cloth,  in  bringing  in  and  removing  the  several  courses. 
Martial  music  accompanied  the  repast,  though  not  the  most 
enchanting ;  and  often  a  mock  combat,  between  two  soldiers, 
armed  with  sword  and  shield,  varied  the  entertainment;  —  for, 


244  I>  K .     GRANT     AND     THE 

wliile  Persians  love  games  of  chance,  the  Kiirds  are  more  fond 
of  manly  sports.  Hunting  and  feats  of  horsemanship  are 
favorite  amusements,  when  they  can  find  room  for  them  in  their 
rugged  mountains.  ^ 

The  monotony  of  the  camp  was  relieved  by  the  occasional 
arrival  of  recruits,  who  were  sent  on  immediately  to  Amadia  ; 
and  it  is  painful  to  record  that  some  Nestorians  from  Tehoma 
were  rewarded  with  cheap  articles  of  dress  for  several  ears  of 
Turks  they  brought  to  the  emir. 

Finding  he  was  likely  to  remain  here  for  some  time.  Dr.  Grant 
obtained  leave  to  go  to  Tyary.  Not,  however,  till  the  emir  had 
urged  him  to  give  up  his  plan  of  building  there,  and  come  and 
live  nearer  to  himself.  AVhen  he  pleaded  that  this  would  involve 
much  inconvenience  to  his  associates,  and  derangement  of  plans, 
he  then  requested  him  to  defer  building  till  he  should  see  him 
again,  to  which  the  doctor  readily  assented.  A  sufficient  reply, 
by  the  way,  to  the  "  hypothesis  "  that  "  under  the  guise  of 
friendship  for  Dr.  Glraut  he  sanctioned  the  building  of  a  mission- 
house,  which  he  hoped  eventually  to  turn  into  a  castle."^  On 
the  same  page  of  the  same  work,  the  casual  remark  of  a  Nes- 
torian  about  digging  a  well  in  the  mission-house  is  made  to 
bear  the  burden  of  the  sweeping  conclusion  that  "  the  Nestorians 
generally  looked  on  this  building  with  suspicion."  Such  a  huge 
structure  erected  on  so  slender  a  basis,  and  a  hypothesis  without 
any  basis,  show  how  little  presented  itself,  on  which  to  found 
insinuations  against  Dr.  Grant. 

Leaving  a  supply  of  medicine  with  the  emir,  and  directions 
how  to  use  it.  Dr.  Grant  proceeded,  xVugust,  9th,  to  Giinduktha, 
three  hours  distant.  The  people  there  had  not  yet  dispersed  from 
evening  prayer ;  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  bishop,  he  endeavored 
to  explain  and  enforce  the  scripture  they  had  just  read.  Sup- 
per was  provided  in  the  house  of  the  steward  of  the  church,  and 

^  See  Nestorians  and  their  Rilua]i=;,  vol.  i.  186. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  245 

a  fire  was  kept  smoking  all  night  to  defend  them  from  the  swarms 
of  mosquitos  produced  by  their  rice-grounds.  The  smoke  was 
stifling ;  but,  of  the  two  evils,  it  certainly  was  the  least.  Priest 
Guwergis,  who  had  imbibed  some  papal  notions,  on  a  visit  to 
Elkosh,  was  now  very  unpopular;  and  after  the  invasion  he 
went  over  to  the  papists. 

Dr.  Grant  spent  the  next  day  preaching  in  the  villages  and 
making  arrangements  for  future  labors,  feeling  all  the  while 
that  the  people  cared  more  for  his  medicine  than  for  the  truth 
they  heard,  and  yet  rejoicing  in  the  privilege  of  proclaiming  it 
to  those  who  might  never  hear  it  again.  In  the  end,  they  were 
very  eager  for  schools  and  books ;  and  again  urged  him  to  fix 
the  station  there,  promising,  if  he  did  so,  to  bring  all  his  fuel 
gratis,  —  no  small  ofi'er,  considering  the  distance  they  would 
have  to  bring  it  on  their  backs, —  for,  though  there  are  many  oak- 
trees  near  the  village,  the  young  shoots  are  cut  ofi"  every  year, 
and  preserved  for  the  use  of  their  cattle  in  winter ;  and,  besides, 
Mar  Shimon  had  anathematized  whoever  should  cut  one  of  them 
down,  because  they  hold  the  snow  around  them,  and  keep  it  from 
sliding  down  on  the  village.  Every  year  some  are  killed  by 
avalanches,  and  men  are  often  dug  out  of  them,  alive,  perhaps, 
but  maimed  for  life. 

At  six  o'clock  next  morning,  he  began  to  climb  the  mountain 
in  a  direction  west  by  north,  for  Tyary.  Passing  some  shep- 
herds, he  saw  one  carrying  home  a  sheep  sadly  torn  by  wild 
beasts,  which  he  intended  to  kill,  and  preserve  the  meat  in  the 
usual  manner.  This  is  generally  done  later  in  the  season,  when 
they  cook  enough  for  the  whole  year,  and,  pulling  out  the  bones, 
pack  the  meat  away  in  jars,  filled  and  covered  with  the  melted 
fat,  so  as  thoroughly  to  exclude  the  air.  He  saw  another  with 
its  leg  broken  by  a  stone  that  rolled  down  the  mountain  from 
above ;  a  danger  to  which  the  shepherd  is  exposed,  as  well  as 
his  flock. 

The  view  from  the  summit  was  interesting,  from  the  number 


246  D  K  .     G  R  A  N  T     AND     T  II  E 

of  familiar  localities  in  sight.  Among  them,  Lezan  lay  west  by 
south,  showing  that  Tehoma  was  east,  rather  than  south,  from 
Tyary. 

Further  to  the  south  he  saw  a  smoke  that  filled  the  air  for 
leagues  around.  It  proceeded  from  the  Turkish  camp,  some  of 
whose  outposts  had  been  set  on  fire  at  the  approach  of  the  Kurds. 
As  the  flat  roofs  of  the  country  are  thickly  covered  with  earth, 
they  always  produce  a  great  volume  of  smoke  when  burning. 
Dr.  Grant  thus  expresses  his  feelings  at  the  sight :  "  It  made 
me  long  more  than  ever  for  the  reign  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
The  very  spot  where  I  stood  had  witnessed  many  a  bloody 
strife  between  two  Christian  tribes,  that  ought  to  have  been  one 
in  love.  May  their  fate  warn  nations  who,  with  clearer  light, 
yet  run  in  the  same  road  to  ruin  !  Even  churches  might  learn  to 
cease  contending  with  each  other,  and  unite  their  strength  against 
the  common  foe.  Surely  there  is  enough  to  engage  the  whole 
force  of  the  church,  without  one  bickering  word,  from  this  time 
forth.  We  7ieed  union  in  action  for  the  conversion  of  the  worlds 
rather  than  mere  union  in  name  or  organizationy 

A  short  descent  brought  him  to  Bealaita  (upper  house),  whose 
forty  houses  seemed  to  adhere,  one  above  another,  to  the  sides 
of  a  ravine,  so  narrow  as  to  leave  barely  room  for  the  torrent 
below.  Though  this  was  his  first  visit  to  this  village,  yet  he  was 
recognized  by  many  former  patients,  who  showed  him  ever}^ 
attention  in  their  power.  The  use  of  the  acrid  contents  of  their 
dirty  goat-skins  compelled  him  to  resort  to  aqua  ammonia  for 
relief;  and,  ere  he  could  speak,  the  village  priest  had  taken  the 
skin  from  his  mouth  with  an  undiluted  dose.  It  did  not,  how- 
ever, stop  his  loquacity,  for  he  rattled  on  as  garrulous  as  before. 
Then  one  wanted  medicine,  and  a  dozen  repeated  the  request ; 
another  must  be  bled,  and  ten  arms  were  at  once  laid  bare  to 
the  lancet.  That  was  so  bright,  it  was  silver,  of  course.  '  The 
brass  on  his  umbrella  was  as  certainly  gold,  and  the  rattans 
were  feathers.      This  incessant    curiosity  —  and    it    prevailed 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  247 

everywhere  —  was  at  times  fatiguing  ;  but  it  was  evidence  of 
mind,  however  rude.  He  looked  on  them  as  unpolished  diamonds, 
and  felt  that,  by  God's  blessing,  something  would  yet  be  made 
of  them.  Many  thought  they  conferred  a  favor  in  receiving  his 
medicine,  as  thus  an  addition  was  made  to  his  stock  of  merit 
and  a  passport  to  Paradise  secured  to  him  or  his  father.  Their 
general  plea,  when  asking  for  it,  was,  "  Erwana  'd  Ganokh,"  or 
"  Erwana  'd  Babokh  "  (charity  for  yourself  or  your  father),  and 
gratitude  was  expressed  by  "  Allaha  Katuleh  erwanokh  "  (may 
God  write  your  charity).  For  all  this,  the  doctor  was  obliged  to 
them,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  it  furnished  such  an 
excellent  text  for  the  preaching  of  the  doctrines  they  most 
needed  to  know,  —  holding  up  Christ  and  his  atonement  as  their 
only  hope,  and  striking  at  their  great  error  of  putting  forms  and 
fasts  and  works  of  merit  in  his  place. 

Some  of  the  villagers  told  him  his  mules  could  not  possibly 
get  over  the  road  before  him  ;  but  he  had  not  forgotten  his  boy- 
hood's motto,  —  "  try,''  — and,  taking  additional  help  from  the 
village,  he  kept  horizontally  along  the  mountain  side,  —  for  the 
ravine  was  utterly  impracticable,  —  and,  with  the  exception  of 
some  places  where  the  avalanches  had  obliterated  the  path,  leav- 
ing a  smooth  and  steep  slope  to  the  very  edge  of  the  precipice, 
he  did  not  find  much  trouble.  At  these  places  the  villagers  did 
admirable  service ;  as  some  taking  the  mules  by  the  head,  and 
others  by  the  tail,  kept  them  from  falling,  till  they  reached  a  place 
where  they  could  take  care  of  themselves.  Fatigued  beyond 
endurance,  the  doctor  rode,  even  where  he  knew  it  was  danger- 
ous, on  the  principle  that  additional  exhaustion  was  the  greater 
danger.  He  had  a  narrow  escape,  however,  for  his  foot  hit  the 
rock  and  threw  the  mule  off  his  critical  balance ;  and,  had  he  not 
instinctively  leaped  off  on  the  up-hill  side,  and  grasped  a  bush 
that  enabled  him  to  hold  on  to  the  mule,  now  trembling  in 
every  limb,  both  had  rolled  together  to  the  bottom.  It  was  not 
far  from  here  that  Dr.  Smith,  in  1844,  had  a  still  more  nar- 


248  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

row  escape.  He  was  carefully  planting  his  steps  in  the  single 
row  of  foot-prints  made  in  the  clayey  soil  when  it  was  soft  in 
the  spring,  till,  his  attention  drawn  for  a  moment  to  some- 
thing else,  he  slid  on  the  smooth  track  of  the  avalanche, 
to  the  very  verge  of  the  precipice  below.  There  he  succeeded 
in  grasping  a  shrub,  and  maiutaijiing  his  hold  till  our  attend- 
ants extricated  him  from  his  perilous  situation.  The  writer  will 
not  soon  forget  the  sight,  or  his  feelings  as  he  saw  him  arrested 
by  the  little  bush,  that  God  seemed  to  have  placed  there  on  pur- 
pose for  his  deliverance.  Had  he  gone  a  few  feet  further,  he 
would  have  been  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  far  below. 

A  night's  rest,  in  a  neighboring  village,  enabled  Dr.  Grant  to 
go  on  next  day  with  renewed  vigor.  His  host  was  a  former 
patient,  who  deliglied  in  this  opportunity  to  show  his  gratitude. 
His  whole  demeanor,  too,  pointed  him  out  as  one  of  the  few  who 
rose  above  the  low  level  of  general  intelligence,  and  w'as  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  better  things.  He  manifested  much  inter- 
est in  the  plans  of  Dr.  Grant  for  the  good  of  his  people.  The 
latter  was  now  in  a  most  inaccessible  part  of  the  mountains,  but, 
as  the  last  road  seemed  always  the  worst,  so  the  scenery  just 
passed  had  always  some  prominent  featrti-e  to  distinguish  it  from 
previous  views.  The  names  of  the  villages  here  —  Kasructa 
(fort),  Matha  'd  Kasra  (village  of  the  castle),  and  Lagippa  (cave) 
—  illustrate  the  adaptation  of  the  region  for  defence.  In  one 
place,  to-day,  Dr.  Grant  crossed  a  land-slide  that  filled  the 
ravine,  for  some  furlongs,  to  the  depth  of  several  fathoms. 
The  people,  shut  in  from  all  the  world,  know  no  language  but 
their  own ;  and,  unlike  the  men  of  Jelu  and  other  places,  few 
ever  look  beyond  the  rocky  ramparts  that  narrow  the  horizon  of 
their  native  village. 

Crossing  another  mountain,  next  day,  he  came  to  the  Zab,  and 
stopped  at  a  hamlet,  where  the  people  brought  him  very  good 
figs  and  grapes,  the  first  he  had  seen  that  season.  Continuing 
up  the  river,  now  at  the  water's  edge,  now  clambering  over  the 


M  0  l;  m'  a  1 :,"    n  e  s  t  o  r  i  a  n  s .  249 

high  cliffs  that  j at  out  into  the  stream,  he  reached  the  celebrated 
cliurch  of  Mar  8awa.  Stopping  at  a  bridge  just  below  it,  he 
sent  word  of  his  arrival  to  Ileiyo,  the  chief  of  the  district  and 
pronounced  by  Dr.  Grant  to  be  "  by  far  the  worst  man  he  had 
known  among  the  Nestorians."  It  was  he  who  tried  to  rob  Mr. 
Ainsworth  and  his  party ;  and  it  was  to  avoid  him  tbat  the  doc- 
tor was  sent  round  by  Ashitha,  on  his  first  entrance,  in  1839.  As 
he  was  under  the  anathema  of  Mar  Shimon,  and  regarded  as  an 
outlaw  by  all  the  people,  he  had  hitherto  avoided  him  ;  but 
now  both  necessity  and  policy  led  him  to  throve  himself  on  his 
hospitality  ;  for,  if  mission  families  were  to  reside  at  Ashitha,  it 
would  hardly  be  safe  to  have  such  an  enemy  so  near  and  un- 
propitiated.  He  was  shown  into  an  arbor  by  the  side  of  a  pool, 
fed  from  a  mill  above,  to  await  his  coming.  While  here  he  tried 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  women  and  children,  and  two 
or  three  of  the  roughest-looking  men  he  had  seen,  who  stood  by, 
apparently  ready  for  any  deed  of  villany.  At  length  the  outlaw 
himself  appeared,  —  a  spare,  sinister-looking  man,  of  about  fifty 
y(3ars  of  age,  with  a  face  marked  by  intemperance,  and  still  more 
with  misanthropy.  Says  Dr.  Grant :  "  I  introduced  myself  as 
physician  to  the  emir,  with  whom  he  has  sided  since  the  anath- 
ema. But,  when  he  found  I  was  on  my  way  to  Mar  Shimon,  he 
drew  down  his  shaggy  brows  with  a  peculiar  frown,  and  asked  if 
I  was  not  connected  with  the  Franks  who  passed  there  two  years 
before  (Mr.  Ainsworth  and  his  party).  Happily  the  emir 
had  informed  me  of  a  chronic  complaint  which  troubled  him,  and 
it  was  not  difiicult  to  satisfy  him  that  I  was  really  what  I  pro- 
fessed to  be.  This  seemed  to  make  a  favorable  impression.  But, 
as  I  insisted  on  total  abstinence  as  the  only  condition  on  which 
I  would  attempt  his  cure,  another  difficulty  arose ;  and,  without 
any  result  more  satisfactory  than  my  own  personal  safety,  I 
left,  promising  to  see  him  again." 

Having  introduced  this  character  to  the  reader,  let  us  briefly 
relate  his  subsequent  history.     Dr.  Grant  redeemed  his  promise 
21 


250  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

by  several  subsequent  visits.     On  the  first  of  them  he  spent  the 
night  with  him,  and  says  of  it :  '•'  At  first  he  received  me  in  a 
very  surly  manner,  and  even  liinted  how  easily  he  could  rob  and 
then  despatch  me  with  his  dagger,  at  the  same  time  drawing  it 
from  its  sheath  and  passing  his  fingers  along  the  edge.     Some 
of  his  attendants  also  boasted  of  the   numbers  they  had  mur- 
dered, and  their  looks  certainly  did  not  belie  their  words.     But 
I  felt  persuaded  that,  however  they  might  waylay  me  in   the 
mountains,  I  was  in  no  danger  here.    So  I  replied  that,  as  I  was 
his  guest,  he  could  do  with  me  as  he   pleased.       But  I  felt 
deeply   concerned  for  him  and  his  people,  w^ho  were  drawing 
down  the  wrath  of  Grod  upon  them  by  their  sins  and  animosities, 
and  it  would  not  be  strange  if  they  were  all  delivered  to  their 
foes.     He  pointed,  with  a   sneer,  to  the  rocky  ramparts  around, 
and  asked  how  they  could  scale  them.     But  I  had  touched  a 
chord  in  his  heart  that  responded  to  the  touch  ;  and  though  at 
first  he  declared  he  would  sooner  turn  Moslem  than  obey  the 
Patriarch,  he  gradually  relented,  and  in  the  end  was  restored  to 
the  church.     The  anathema   that  had   rested   on  him   for  years 
was  removed,  at  the  feast  of  the  cross,  in  September,  and  Heiyo 
himself  walked  some  miles  to  meet  the   Patriarch,  and  make 
peace  with  the  Malek,  with  whom  he  had  long  been  at  war. 
Mar   Shimon  came  in  person  and   re-consecrated   the  church, 
which,  from  its  central  position   and  hoary  antiquity,  was  held 
in  great  veneration.     Many  thousands,  from  all  parts  of  the 
tribe,  joined  in   the  festivities,  and  I  was  welcomed  by  Heiyo 
with  the  cry  of  '  Hoba  !  hoba  !  '  (love),  about  which  I  had  spoken 
to  him  so  much  and  so  earnestly."     Poor  man !  he  has  since 
iione  to  his  account,  with  hundreds  of  those  most  joyous  on  that 
festal  day.     Whether  his  reconciliation  with  Mar  Shimon  had 
anything  to   do  with  it  may  be  difficult  to  say.     But  he  was 
amon2  the  first  to  fall,  in  the  fatal  invasion  of  1843. 

Dr.   Grant  never  interfered  with  politics  ;  but  he  beheved 
Christ  when   he  said   "Blessed   are  the    penve- ina leers ''     The 


m.' 


lifif 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  253 

Kurds  Rouglit  to  divide  and  weaken  the  Nestorians,  and  were 
even  angry  with  him  for  thwarting  their  endeavors  to  do  so  ; 
yet  these  words  of  his  Saviour  controlled  his  conduct,  and  him- 
self has  left  it  on  record,  that  on  no  acts  of  his  life  did  he  look 
back  with  more  satisfaction  than  on  his  efforts  to  inculcate 
among  them  that  love  that  would  have  made  their  rugged  vales 
a  paradise.     But,  to  return  to  the  narrative  : 

The  little  party,  though  refused  a  guide,  on  account  of  the  feud 
referred  to  between  Heiyo  and  the  Malek,  continued  on  alone, 
over  debris  from  the  crags  above,  that  extended  into  the  very 
river.  Scarce  a  particle  of  earth  was  mingled  with  it,  and  the 
feet  of  the  mule  often  slipped  down  so  far  between  the  stones 
that  the  rider  had  to  step  off —  not  dismount  —  to  let  him  rise. 
A  house  stood  here  and  there  on  a  narrow  terrace,  redeemed, 
with  great  labor,  from  the  general  desolation,  and  watered  by 
well-built  aqueducts,  that,  compared  with  the  little  plot  to  be 
irrigated,  often  seemed  disproportionately  long.  The  terraces, 
RiniiU  as  they  were,  needed  continual  care  to  defend  them  from 
the  falling  rocks,  that,  else,  would  soon  obliterate  them  alto- 
gether. Not  more  than  one  part  out  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
is  arable,  through  the  whole  of  the  mountains. 

The  bridge  at  Chumba,  which  they  crossed,  —  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long  and  three  wide,  and  about  twenty  feet  above 
the  water,  —  was  a  good  specimen  of  their  structures  of  that  kind 
and  may  be  better  understood  from  the  accompanying  engraving 
than  from  any  description.  The  curvilinear  piece  in  the  middle, 
as  well  as  that  at  each  end,  is  formed  by  the  trunks  of  poplar 
trees,  laid  side  by  side,  and  covered  with  a  web  of  wicker-work, 
instead  of  boards.  The  ends  of  the  trees,  where  they  overlap 
each  other,  are  fastened  together  with  withes.  To  a  stranger, 
the  vibration  of  the  narrow  central  part  is  truly  startling.  But 
Dr.  Grant  was  most  concerned  for  the  poor  mules,  which  had  to 
be  forced  to  the  frightful  passage,  and  then  broke  through  the 
wicker-work  several  times,  and  had  to  be  lifted  up  by  the  united 


254  I>  H  .     Cx  R  A  N  T     AND     THE 

cfforta  of  several  Nestorians.  When  Dr.  Smith  and  Mr.  L. 
passe  up  this  same  valley,  the  only  way  they  could  get  a  mule 
across  a  bridge,  higher  up  the  river,  after  he  had  broken  through 
twice,  was  to  lay  before  him  the  rugs  on  which  they  slept,  re- 
moving one  as  he  stepped  upon  the  other,  and  laying  it  down 
again  before  him,  till  he  landed  safe  on  the  other  side.  The 
Nestorians  often  cflmpel  ^them  to  swim  across,  secured  by  long 
ropes,  that  keep  them  from  being  carried  away  by  the  rapid 
current. 

It  was  night  before  they  were  fairly  over  the  river ;  and, 
after  supper,  with  his  old  friend,  the  Malek,  Dr.  Grant  mounted 
an  arzaleh  over  the  very  centre  of  a  torrent,  the  white  foam  of 
the  water-fall  breaking  close  to  his  head  as  he  slept.  He  woke 
in  the  morning  to  find  that  he  had  kicked  olf  his  quilt  into  the 
stream,  where  it  hung,  fastened  to  the  platform  by  one  corner, 
undergoing  a  process  for  which  it  was  all  the  better  when  dried. 
While  the  Malek  replaced  the  shoes  torn  from  the  feet  of  the 
mules  by  the  stones  the  day  before,  —  the  doctor  carried  a  sup- 
ply for  such  emergencies,  —  his  kind-hearted  hostess  had  a  fine 
dish  of  rice  and  buttermilk  boiling  over  the  fire.  This  was 
something  quite  bej'ond  their  ordinary  fare,  and  they  watched 
its  bubbling  with  bright  anticipations;  but,  alas  for  the  vanity 
of  human  hopes  !  the  earthen  pot  —  iron  ones  are  unknown,  and 
copper  is  too  dear  for  the  mountaineers  —  broke,  and  emptied 
all  its  contents  into  the  fire.  The  good  woman,  however,  was 
not  discouraged  ;  and  some  pottage  of  lentils,  —  such  as  Jacob 
sold  to  Esau  at  so  dear  a  rate,  —  prepared  in  a  newer  vessel, 
afi'orded  them  a  welcome  repast. 

Though  late  in  the  forenoon,  the  sun  was  just  peeping  over 
the  mountain  as  they  set  out  for  the  zozan  of  the  Malek,  whither 
most  of  le  village  had  already  gone.  Two-and-a-half  hours 
above  Chamba  they  turned  into  a  ravine  at  right-angles  with  the 
Zab;  and,  after  three  hours'  journey  over  a  path  no  better 
than  yesterday's,  they  reached  the  place.     "The  camp,"  says 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  255 

Dr.  Grant,  "  was  one  of  the  best,  and  yet  miserably  poor ;  for 
I  never  had  romance  enough  about  me  to  gild  the  rude  hut  of 
branches  which  forms  the  family  .mansion,  the  coarse  felt  which 
serves  for  bed  and  chairs,  or  the  greasy  goat-skin  table,  and 
dirty  wooden  bowl,  which  represents  the  whole  china-closet  of 
better  homes ;  —  especially  when  the  last  is  filled  with  acid  but- 
termilk-soup, and  that  eaten  with  millet  bread,  beside  which  rye 
is  a  luxury  and  maize  most  excellent." 

The  only  tent  on  the  ground  was  occupied  by  Mar  Shimon, 
and  served  at  once  for  council-room,  chapel,  parlor  and  bed-room, 
—  indeed,  everything  but  retirement.  The  doctor  was  gratified 
by  the  kind  reception  given  by  the  Patriarch  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, Psalms,  and  other  books  from  the  mission  press.  The 
reading  of  them  formed  almost  the  only  religious  exercise  on  the 
Sabbath ;  for,  though  they  did  not  work  on  that  day,  the  care 
of  their  flocks  went  on  as  usual.  Some  letters  from  Mar  Yo- 
hanan,  then  in  this  country,  w^ere  read  aloud  by'the  Patriarch, 
gi\ang  a  very  good  account  of  its  religious  character,  and  gen- 
eral superiority  to  his  own.  As  for  Dr.  Grant,  he  was  too  ill  to 
attend  to  anything  but  his  own  aches  ;  for  his  damp  dormitory 
at  Chumba  had  brought  on  a  swelled  face,  which  was  reli^wed 
only  by  a  desperate  plunge  of  his  lancet  into  the  very  roots  of 
his  teeth. 

Next  morning  he  set  out,  with  Mar  Shimon,  for  Ashitha,  who 
w^as  going  to  meet  Suleiman  Bey  and  Israael  Pasha,  fully  deter- 
mined not  to  join  them  against  the  Turks.  He  regarded  it  as  a 
strife  between  them  and  the  latter  for  supremacy  over  the  Nes- 
torians  ;  and,  of  the  two,  he  preferred  the  success  of  the  Turks 
as  the  more  responsible.  Probably,  also,  he  had  the  secret  hopo 
that,  in  that  case,  Christian  powers  would  do  more  for  their  pro- 
tection. Had  he  done  otherwise,  he  might  have  made  peace  with 
the  emir,  and  thus  had  but  one  enemy  to  combat ;  but,  having 
received  friendly  letters  from  the  Pasha  of  Mosul,  he  thought 
gratitude  for  present  neutrality  would  make  them  firm  friends 
21# 


256  Dll.     GRANT     AND     THE 

in  the  futute.  To  this  the  doctor  could  only  listen  in  silence. 
He  says  of  it :  "  The  pacific  nature  of  his  plan  was  at  least  com- 
mendable ■  and,  on  the  principle  of  following  peace  with  all  men, 
I  afterwards  recommended  him  to  be  reconciled  with  the  emir, 
and  thus,  if  possible,  avert  disaster.  I  also  tried  to  persuade 
the  emir  to  peace  with  him ;  but,  further  than  this,  I  could  not 
interfere,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  political  relations. 
Once  before  this  I  queried  whether  I  ought  not  to  advise  sub- 
mission to  the  Turks,  to  avoid  a  bloody  subjugation ;  but  that 
would  involve  taxation,  and,  most  likely,  oppression ;  and  then 
I  might  be  blamed,  as  having  aided  in  bringing  about  such 
results.  I  therefore  determined  to  '  know  nothing  among  them 
"but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.'  leaving  all  else  to  him  '  who 
is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working.'  This  purpose 
I  made  known  to  them  repeatedly  and  distinctly,  telling  them, 
in  the  very  face  of  their  cherished  hopes,  that  I  had  neither 
political  ends  to  serve,  nor  power  to  promote  them  if  I  had ; 
and,  though  it  produced  a  temporary  disappointment,  in  the  end 
it  always  secured  their  confidence  and  respect." 

He  was  loth  to  leave  the  bracing  air  and  grand  scenery  of 
the  camp,  then  nearly  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  "When 
Ainsworth  was  there  it  was  lower  down.  Malota  —  which  he 
makes  six  thousand  two  hundred  feet  —  is  also  far  below  it,  and 
is  a  Nestorian,  not  a  Kurdish  village,  as  he  reports  it.  The 
people,  as  he  passed,  Avere  busy  collecting  the  Alpine  plants 
they  use  instead  of  hay.  These  they  pile  in  stacks,  on  the  sum- 
mit nearest  the  village,  and  slide  them  down  in  winter,  on  sledges 
shaped  like  a  trough,  with  more  than  railroad  speed.  In  de- 
scending the  mountahi,  Dr.  Grant  had  to  ride,  as  usual,  at  the 
risk  of  being  thrown  over  the  head  of  his  mule,  when  the  Patri- 
arch and  the  rest  travelled  on  foot. 

At  the  foot  of  the  range  he  stopped  at  Gralitha,  subject  to  the 
Malek  of  Chumba,  though  inhabited  mostly  by  Kurds,  and  spent 
■he  afternoon  in  pleasant  intercourse  with  Mar  Shimon  and  the 


MOUNTAIN     NEST0RIAN8.  257 

villagers.  After  evening  prayers,  which  the  Nestorians  always 
finish  before  sunset,  came  supper  ;  and,  that  over,  Dr.  Grant 
spread  his  rug  on  a  high  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and 
slept  soundly  on  his  flinty  couch. 

They  crossed  with  ease,  in  the  middle  of  August,  the  stream 
Mr.  Ainsv,'orth  found  so  difficult  in  June,  —  so  great  are  the 
changes  in  these  mountain  torrents.  This  also  accounts  for  his 
mistake  in  making  the  Berdizawi  as  large  as  the  Zab.  Dr 
Grant  has  found  it  almost  as  large,  and  again,  later  in  the  sea 
son,  not  one-quarter  the  size.  The  journeys  of  subsequent  tra\  • 
ellers  prove  that  the  Berdizawi  ought  to  be  struck  out  of  Mr. 
Ainsworth's  map,  and  both  that  and  the  Habor  laid  down  as  hi 
the  map  of  Dr.  Grant.  After  passing  over  several  deep  banks 
of  snow,  they  were  four  long  hours  in  reaching  the  summit, 
behind  Ashitha.  Most  of  the  party  had  to  climb  the  greater 
part  of  the  distance  on  foot ;  but,  once  at  the  top,  they  rested 
lalf  an  hour,  enjoying  one  of  the  most  extensive  views  he  had 
3ver  seen.  Here  he  took  the  following  bearings  with  his  pocket 
compass  :  Ashitha,  at  his  feet,  south-west  by  south ;  Amadia,  due 
south,  —  the  road  over  the  pass  distinctly  traceable ;  Zacho,  west- 
south-west  (this  v/as  afterwards  verified  by  counter-observations); 
course  of  the  Gara  range,  south-east;  Sinjar,  straight  over 
Ashitha;  great  bend  of  the  Zab,  east-south-east;  Julamerk  and 
Sillee,  north-east;  Liehun,  north-north-east,  in  a  valley  running 
south  to  the  Zab;  Hertush,  north-west;  Chumba,  north-east  by 
east;  zozan  of  the  Malek,  north  by  east;  Tehoma,  south-east  by 
east,  and  east-south-east ;  Jclii,  east  by  north ;  and  Zawitha, 
south-south-east.  These  bearings,  taken  with  a  very  delicate 
compass,  will  be  found  generally  to  agree  with  the  original  map 
of  Dr.  Grant ;  but  some  of  them  —  as,  for  example,  Zacho,  west 
south-west,  instead  of  north-west  by  V7est  —  not  at  all  with  Mr. 
Ainsworth.  The  latter,  though  full,  is  not  accurate.  His  dis- 
tance of  Ashitha  from  Amadia  is  too  little  by  half,  while  from 
Van  it  is  altogether  too   great.     Thus  much  Dr.  Grant.     The 


258  DR.      GRAXT     AND     THE 

writer  would  add,  that,  in  company  with  Dr.  Smith,  in  1844,  he 
was  thirty-lour  and  three-quarter  hours  from  Mosul  to  Ashitha, 
—  exclusive  of  stops, —«  and  yet,  according  to  Mr.  Ainsworth, 
they  only  made  thirty -five  m.inutes  of  latitude.  Again,  we  were 
seven  hours  from  a  point  in  the  road,  north  of  Madinki,  and  east 
of  Kumri  Kala,  to  Ashitha,  and  yet  his  map  would  show  that 
we  spent  all  that  time  in  travelling  three  or  four  miles.  At 
Julamerk  we  were  told  that  a  man  could  go  over  the  mountains 
to  Van  in  three  days,  and  to  Mosul,  via  Jezira,  in  five ;  though 
any  one,  from  Ainsworth's  map,  would  rather  think  of  going  tc> 
Jezira  via  Mosul,  so  inaccurately  are  the  places  laid  down. 

From  Ashitha  Dr.  Grant  learned  it  was  three  and  a-half  days' 
walk  to  Shakh,  a  large  village  in  the  country  of  the  Hertush 
Kiirds  (he  afterwards  travelled  it  in  three),  and  thence  two  and 
a-half  to  Van,  and  three  to  Julamerk. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  steepest  ascent  the  party  were  met  by  a 
priest  with  a  burning  censer,  v/hich  he  swung  before  the  Patri- 
arch till  they  reached  the  village.  As  they  approached,  the 
crowd  that  came  to  salute  him  continually  increased,  till  their 
progress  became  so  impeded  they  were  glad  to  turn  into  one  of 
the  first  houses  they  reached ;  and  there  Dr.  Grant  remained  for 
nearly  a  week.  Its  situation  was  romantic.  A  stream  from  the 
snow  in  plain  sight  in  the  ravine  above  turned  a  small  mill,  — 
the  mill-stone,  as  usual,  revolving  on  the  same  shaft  to  which 
the  water-wheel  was  attached,  below.  Released  from  service 
there,  it  dashed  rapidly  by  the  door,  near  a  bower  erected  under 
the  shade  of  a  walnut-tree,  for  the  accommodation  of  their  guests. 
Here  the  doctor  spent  his  time  in  quiet,  a  mile  distant  from  the 
centre  of  the  village,  that  now  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
camp.  Four  hundred  Kurds  had  assembled  there.  The  head 
men  of  T3^ary  had  met  in  council,  and  many  of  them  favored  the 
proposal  of  the  emir.  Mar  Shimon,  however,  firm  to  his  pur- 
pose, managed  to  induce  those  opposed  to  his  views  to  append 
such  conditions  to  their   cooperation  as  the  Kurds  would  not 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  259 

accept,  and  tl'iis  all  continued  neutral,  except  a  few,  who  went 
on  their  own  responsibility.  All  this  while,  the  Patriarch  and 
Malek  secretly  corresponded  with  the  pasha ;  and  had  they  then 
induced  their  people  to  side  with  him,  would  have  secured  the 
most  favorable  terms.  But,  failing  in  this,  they  lost  the  favor  of 
both  parties.  Of  the  pasha,  because  afterwards  their  help  was 
not  so  much  needed,  as  their  subjugation  was  for  his  interest. 
And  the  emir,  now  exceedingly  jealous  of  Turkish  influence, 
hated  Mar  Shimon  more  than  ever,  for  his  correspondence  with 
the  pasha. 

After  the  danger  was  over,  the  latter,  instead  of  thanking, 
them  for  their  neutrality,  censured  the  few  enlistments  from 
Tyary,  and  the  more  general  one  from  Tehoma,  as  a  breach  of 
faith.  But  to  return  to  Ashitha.  The  Nestorians  on  v/hom  the 
Kurds  were  quartered,  finding  they  still  remained  after  the  decis- 
ion, wished  to  drive  them  away  by  force,  and  some  even  sounded 
the  war-cry ;  so  that,  for  a  v>^hile,  all  was  confusion,  till  Mar 
Shimon  interfered,  and  quiet  was  restored.  In  the  confusion, 
however,  four  or  five  mules  of  Ismael  Pasha  were  secured,  by  the 
orders  of  the  Patriarch  and  Malek,  and  never  restored  till,  with 
all  else,  they  were  lost  in  the  invasion. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  departure  of  Ismael  Pasha,  Dr.  Grant 
had  not  gone  near  the  assembled  chiefs.  But  Suleiman  Bey 
and  Tatar  Khan,  a  Ilertush  chief,  remained  some  days  longer, 
and,  at  their  repeated  solicitation,  he  paid  them  a  visit.  The 
former  received  him  a  -  an  old  friend.  To  the  other  this  was  his 
first  introduction,  and  3  Avas  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  forming 
the  acquaintance  of  his  nearest,  and  therefore  most  dreaded 
Kurdish  neighbor.  His  castle  is  distant  only  one  day's  journey, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ilabor.  He  hinsself  was  exceedingly  rough, 
even  for  a  Kurd, —  short,  thick-set,  with  a  large  neck,  and  a  face 
anything  but  prepossessing.  His  manners  corresponded  with  his 
looks.  He  wanted  to  be  bled,  but,  as  usual,  must  first  see  the 
operation  performed  on  another.     Ancl  when,  for   the  firfct  time 


260  DR.     G  K  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

in  hi&  life,  le  saw  it  done,  with  a  significant  shrug,  he  cried, 
"  Kanj  neena,  —  kanj  neena  !  "  (not  good,  —  not  good).  The 
merciless  robber,  who  had  shed  the  life-blood  of  many  a  man, 
shrunk  like  a  coward  from  losing  a  droj)  of  his  own. 

The  character  of  his  tribe  is  in  keeping  with  his  own.  They 
are  a  terror  to  the  weaker  clans  about  them  ;  and  woe  betide  the 
traveller  who  falls  into  their  hands  !  But  for  his  relation  to  the 
emir,  Dr.  Grant  had  not  passed  through  their  territory  so  easily 
in  1840.  And,  therefore,  though  the  chief  invited  him  to  visit 
them  now,  as  there  was  no  missionar}^  work  to  be  done  there,  and 
it  would  have  been  quite  in  character  for  them  to  rob  him  on 
his  way  back  from  enjoying  their  hospitality,  he  wisely  declined. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  he  removed  to  the  room  usually  occu- 
pied by  the  Patriarch,  near  the  church  ;  and,  though  political 
discussion  crowded  out  all  other  topics,  he  labored  faithfully  to 
impress  them  with  a  sense  of  dependence  on  God,  and  the  need 
of  turning  to  Him  in  order  to  escape  impending  judgments.  In 
the  room  there  was  as  much  freedom  of  speech  among  the  people 
as  any  republican  could  desire.  Though  each,  on  entering, 
kissed  the  hand  of  the  Patriarch,  on  bended  knee,  he  often  found 
it  difficult  to  maintain  his  authority,  or  even  command  respect- 
ful treatment;  and  yet  his  power  of  anathema,  outlawing  the 
offender  from  society,  and  depriving  him  of  Christian  burial, 
keeps  all  in  perfect  submission.  Many,  however,  deny  his  right 
to  use  this  jDower,  except  for  ecclesiastical  offences. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  while  small  villages  have  often  two 
churches,  and  Minianish  no  less  than  four,  this,  the  largest  of 
all,  has  onl7  one.  That  one,  however,  has  no  less  than  thirteen 
priests  anf"  thirty  deacons ;  and  formerly  the  number  was  much 
larger.  Vrith  the  sanction  of  Mar  Shimon,  Dr.  Grant  opened 
a  school  with  thirty  pupils,  and  one  of  the  priests  taught  it 
up  to  the  time  of  the  invasion. 

The  size  and  salubrity  of  this  village  had  first  led  him  to 
select  it  for  the  mission  station  ;  and,  on  mature  reflection,  he 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  Zb  1 

now  resoh^eJ  to  comply  with  the  Patriarch's  advice,  and  make  it 
such,  at  least  for  the  summer.  It  is  easy  of  access  from 
Mosul,  but  fuel  has  to  be  brought  a  day's  journey  on  the  backs 
of  men  or  mules.  Mar  Shimon  was  desirous  that  Dr.  Grant 
should  begin  at  once,  while  he  was  on  the  ground  to  aid  him, 
and  offered  to  make  each  house  furnish  one  of  their  tallest 
poplar-trees  gratis,  for  the  roofs.  But  he  at  once  objected  to  all 
compulsory  measures,  and  preferred  deferring  the  whole  matter 
till  he  had  got  the  written  consent  of  the  emir  ;  not  that  he  had 
a  right  to  interfere,  but,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  to  avoid  all  cause 
of  complaint.  Moreover,  he  had  promised  to  do  nothing  till  he 
had  seen  him  again.  Tliesc  things  show  how  entirely  erroneous 
is  Mr.  Badger's  assertion,  that  "Dr.  Grant  informed  him,  before 
his  death,  that,  on  asking  leave  of  Mar  Shimon  to  commence  the 
undertaking,  the  Patriarch  referred  him  to  the  emir,  pleading, 
at  the  same  time,  that  he  had  not  the  power  of  granting  his 
request."  ^  The  emir  was  then  in  Chull,  a  small  Kilrdish  dis- 
trict, south-east  of  Tyary,  and  thither  Dr.  Grant  resolved  to  go 
and  see  him. 

On  Friday,  August  26,  he  took  leave  of  the  Patriarch,  and. 
with  the  bishop  and  Baho,  followed  down  the  Izany  toward  the 
Zab.  This  stream  rises  in  two  large  springs,  on  either  side  the 
valley ;  and  each  turns  several  mills  before  they  unite  below  the 
village.  With  the  exception  of  another  in  Jelu,  Dr.  Grant  says 
he  never  saw  fountains  so  large.  The  upper  of  these  springs 
issues  from  under  the  base  of  the  mountain,  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  valley,  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  the  mission-house,  and 
discharges  a  volume  of  watisr  suiScient  to  supply  the  Croton 
aqueducts  at  New  York  twice  over.  Two  hours  brought  them 
to  Zawitha,in  a  hollow  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  valley  ;  and 
one  hour  further  to  Minyanish,  with  its  four  churches,  one  of 
which,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  rest,  Mr.  Ainsworth  calls  the 

*  Nestoridiis  and  their  Rituals,  i.  185. 


262  n  II .    G  ii  A  X  T    A  X  D    'i'  II  i: 

village  of  Umra  (cliurcli),  as  though  the  word  were  a  proper 
name.  Lezan,  the  next  village,  i.s  ^o  low  and  warm,  that  two 
crops  in  the  year,  of  either  barley,  rice  or  millet,  are  very  com- 
mon. With  Kasha  liiiel,  of  Miuyanish,  he  found  a  copy  of  the 
history  of  the  Nicene  Council,  by  Theodorus  of  Mopsuestia,  now 
in  the  mission  library,  at  Beirut.  The  other  works  of  that 
wi.'ter  he  looked  for  in  vain.  This  priest,  next  to  Kasha  Aura- 
ham  the  most  learned  in  Tyary,  was,  by  the  efforts  of  Dr. 
Grant,  so  far  reformed  from  intemperance  as  to  be  intrusted 
with  the  care  of  the  school  established  in  his  village,  till  the  war 
came,  and  cut  off  both  teacher  and  pupils.  At  Lezan  he  spent 
the  night  with  Kasha  Kena,  who  accompanied  him  to  Ashitha 
on  his  first  visit,  and  ever  after  proved  an  efficient  helper,  teach- 
ing and  preaching  with  more  than  common  fidelity. 

Next  morning,  in  company  with  his  host,  he  kept  down  the 
west  bank  of  the  Zab,  over  the  mountain,  toward  the  camp  of 
the  emir ;  passing  the  village  of  Zarne,  with  its  forts  strongly 
built  with  stone  and  lime.  Turning  thence  to  the  Zab,  he  came 
to  another  fort,  near  the  point  where  the  Bey  of  Ravandooz  was 
driven  back,  in  1834.  Thence  he  turned  up  the  river,  to  a  ford, 
where  he  crossed  with  difficulty,  though  the  water  was  then 
shallow  ;  and,  scrambling  up  the  opposite  mountain,  reached  the 
camp  of  the  emir  after  dark.  Part  of  the  way  was  so  difficult 
that  his  mules  sometimes  slid  ten  or  twelve  yards  at  a  time  on 
the  smooth  face  of  the  rock,  and  once  or  twice  were  in  danger 
of  sliding  into  the  river.  He  was  assigned  a  hut  just  vacated  by 
Ismael  Pasha,  who  had  gone  to  Amadia.  As  the  emir  was  ill  with 
the  ague,  he  was  not  an  unwelcome  guest;  though  his  patient  was 
more  than  usually  cautious  in  taking  medicine,  as  if  he  feared  the 
doctor  was  in  league  with  the  Patriarch  to  take  him  off  by  poison. 
Even  on  ordinary  occasions,  both  here  and  with  the  Patriarch, 
in  serving  coffee,  the  attendant  first  pours  a  little  into  tlie  chiefs 
cup,  and  then  out  of  that  into  all  the  rest,  a<id  drinks  it  hlm.^elf, 
jjefore  he  pours  for  any  one  else. 


M  0  I  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  2Q'6 

On  the  Sabbath,  besides  many  calls  from  Kurds  and  Jews,  he 
assembled  the  Nestorians,  for  religious  instruction,  under  a  large 
walnut-tree,  the  bishop  assisting  him  as  usual.  Next  day,  the 
men  of  Tehoma  returned,  half  famished,  from  the  war.  For  sev- 
eral days,  so  poor  was  the  emir's  commissariat,  they  had  subsisted 
entirely  on  fruits  and  roots.  The  Kurds  soon  followed,  and 
thus  the  whole  expedition  failed.  The  doctor,  meantime,  had 
secured  the  written  permission  of  the  emir  to  proceed  with  his 
building,  and  was  all  ready  to  return.  The  camp  was  in  a  most 
healthy  location,  near  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  with  the 
best  of  water  boiling  up  from  a  spring  in  its  centre.  Yet,  on 
account  of  the  famine,  he  was  glad  to  get  away,  especially  as 
the  emir  was  so  chagrined  at  his  failure  he  could  think  of  noth- 
ing else.  First,  he  accused  the  leaders  of  cowardice ;  then  laid 
all  the  blame  on  the  chief  of  ChuU,  who  was  fined  and  deposed. 
Forty  days  afterwards  he  went  to  Tyary ;  and,  though  the  year 
before  he  had  been  active  in  burning  the  Patriarch's  house, 
leagued  himself  with  Mar  Shimon  against  the  emir.  He  was 
very  friendly  to  Dr.  Grant,  and  invited  him  to  his  castle. 

On  his  way  to  the  Zab,  Dr.  Grant  passed  two  considerabxe 
villages,  and  the  descent  occupied  an  hour  and  a  half.  In  the 
first  village  of  Tyary  he  was  mistaken  for  a  Kiird,  but,  on  being 
recognized,  was  treated  with  much  kindness.  The  village  priest, 
like  many  others  of  his  profession,  was  absent  with  the  army. 
They  plead  the  necessity  of  giving  the  slain  a  Christian  burial, 
but  carry  guns,  and  use  them  also,  like  the  rest.  They  often 
wear  the  large  dagger  in  their  girdle,  even  at  church ;  and  this 
one  Dr.  Grant  had  seen  before,  not  only  with  sword  and  dag- 
ger, but  with  a  shaven  chin,  like  the  laity,  —  much  more  ol  an 
offence  against  clerical  manners  in  these  regions,  where  a  man 
is  not  counted  a  religious  teacher  without  a  beard.  Neither  Dr. 
Grant,  nor  any  of  his  associates  in  Mosul,  ever  touched  a  razor 
while  there,  on  the  principle  of  a  harmless  conformity  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  people. 
22 


2(34  BR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

The  Pat/iarcli  sometimes  leads  liis  army  in  person,  as  he  did, 
the  season  before,  against  Berwer  and  Amadia. 

At  Lezan  they  had  to  drive  their  mules  into  the  river,  and 
cross  the  narrow,  crazy  bridge  themselves  in  their  stockings,  and 
almost  on  all-fours.  Mr.  Ainsworth  was  quite  excusable  in  mis- 
taking the  structure  for  a  bridge  of  ropes,  —  the  long,  bending 
poplar  trees  looking  very  like  cables  to  one  standing  at  a  dis- 
tance. Col.  Chesney,  who  follows  Ainsworth,  and  ignores  the 
book  of  Dr.  Grant,  makes  this  mistake  the  basis  of  a  general 
assertion  that  "  the  intercourse  from  side  to  side  of  tlie  Zab  is  by 
means  of  rope  bridges."  '^ 

Finding  he  could  not  build  a  house  in  Ashitlui  before  winter. 
Dr.  Grant  hired  one  in  Lezan,  and  spent  some  days  in  fitting  it 
up,  and  providing  forage  and  fuel,  —  wood  he  bought  by  the 
back-load,  and  straw  by  the  basket-full. 

On  his  way  to  spend  the  Sab'oath  at  Zaw^itha  he  w^as  saluted 
by  a  discharge  of  guns,  nearly  two  thousand  feet  above  him.  He 
replied  by  raising  his  umbrella,  which  called  forth  a  shout  of 
welcome.  He  employed  the  day  as  usual,  and  was  strongly 
urged  by  the  villagers  to  locate  the  station  there  ;  but  it  was  not 
a  suitable  place,  and  he  returned  next  day  to  Ashitha. 

One  of  several  ridges  that  there  sweep  down  from  the  moun- 
tain, on  the  northern  side  of  the  valley,  continues  on,  with  a 
gentle  slope,  till  its  rounded  extremity  overhangs  the  Izany,  not 
far  from  the  fountain  in  which  it  rises. 

On  this  ridge,  just  below  the  village  foot-path  that  leads  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  valley,  and  overlooked  by  the  terraces  above, 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  locations  the  place  affords.  It  is 
not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  cluster  of  hamlets  that  form  the 
village,  though  few  of  the  houses  are  in  sight,  as  most  are  con- 
cealed by  irregular  eminences  on  either  side.  The  roar  of  the 
torrent  is  audible  all  day  long,  and  through  the  night  its  deep 
bass,  reechoed  from  the   mountain  beyond,  is  as  loud  as   it  is 

♦Expedition  to  Euuln-ate.s,  kc,  i.  122. 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  265 

solemn  and  unceasing.  The  situation  is  salubrious,  and  com- 
mands, perhaps,  the  most  pleasant  prospect  in  that  Alpine  val- 
ley, hemmed  in,  as  it  is,  on  all  sides,  by  overhanging  mountains. 

The  beauty  of  the  location  had  induced  some  village  notable 
of  former  days  to  erect  his  castle  there,  —  a  structure,  probably, 
quite  as  much  of  a  mansion  as  a  fort.  But  the  building,  what- 
ever it  was,  has  long  since  disappeared.  A  stranger  would  not 
have  suspected  that  the  few  shapeless  stones  that  marked  the 
site  were  anything  diiferent  from  similar  stones  covering  the 
surface  in  all  directions.  Perhaps  some  unneighborly  attack 
convinced  the  ancient  lord  of  the  manor  that  his  position  was  not 
so  defensible  as  it  was  beautiful,  and  constrained  him  to  leave  it 
for  a  safer  location.  But  he  had  lived  there  long  enough  to 
give  to  the  place  the  name  of  "  the  Castle,"  in  the  traditions  of 
the  village.  Yet,  in  a  region  where  every  hamlet  has  its  strong- 
hold, and  most  villages  have  several,  it  never  entered  the  mind 
of  Dr.  Grrant  that  the  name  could  be  an  occasion  of  alarm.  In- 
deed, it  would  be  difficult,  in  a  country  so  ancient,  to  find  any 
eligible  location  that  had  not  been  occupied  in  former  years. 

Dr.  Grant,  therefore,  showed  much  good  taste  in  selecting  this 
site  for  the  mission-house.  Economy,  also,  was  another  motive, 
as  we  shall  see  by  comparing  the  price  of  this  with  the  sum  paid 
for  a  much  smaller  lot  innnediately  adjoining;  for,  while  the 
latter  was  under  cultivation,  the  grounds  of  the  old  castle  were 
so  hopelessly  unproductive  that  they  were  left  untilled,  in  a 
region  where  every  available  foot  of  land  is  cultivated  with  the 
greatest  care.  The  title-deed  for  this,  bearing  the  seals  of  Mar 
Shimon  and  Priest  Abraham,  may  be  rendered  as  follows  from 
the  Syriac  : 

''  From  the  Patriarchal  mansion  receive  ye  prayer  and  bless- 
ing : 

"  Know  ye  who  meet  with  this  which  we  have  written,  that,  in 
the  year  2153  of  the  Greeks  (era  of  the   Seleucidap);  Hekim 


266  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

Grant,  the  Englishman,  from  the  country  of  America,  came  to 
the  village  of  Ashitha,  in  Tj^ary,  and  bought  the  castle  which 
is  in  the  middle  of  Ashitha  from  Deacon  Shlimon,  of  the  house 
of  liaban,  and  from  Newiya,  of  the  house  of  Dadeh,  for  the 
sum  of  thirty  piastres  [probably  the  same  as  the  cherky,  —  about 
ien  cents]  ;  also,  he  bought  from  Daniel,  and  the  son  of  his 
}>rother,  for  the  sum  of  thirty  piastres ;  moreover,  he  bought  from 
Yogannis,  of  the  house  of  Bajeh,  the  piece  of  land  which  lies  at 
the  west  of  the  castle,  for  the  sum  of  twenty  piastres ;  in  the 
presence  of  Kasha  Auraham,  and  Kasha  Zeiya,  and  Kasha  Mat- 
tai,  and  Kasha  Gyiiergis,  and  Kasha  Ishak,  and  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  priests,  deacons  and  believers,  of  the  whole  of  Ashitha. 
The  lot  of  the  munition  of  the  castle  is  confirvied  to  Hekini 
Grant,  and  to  his  associates  the  English  of  America,  in  the 
presence  of  Mar  Yoosuf,  Bishop  of  Adurbaijan,  —  that  is, 
Aurniy  (pronounced  Urmy). 

"  Moreover,  the  doctor  and  his  associates,  the  English,  shall 
dwell  in  Ashitha  even  until  the  resurrection,  with  the  permission 
of  the  Emir,  and  the  Mudebbir,  and  Mar  Shimon  Katolika, 
Patriarch  of  the  East. 

"  Written  by  the  hands  of  the  unworthy  Archdeacon  Aui-aham, 
on  Friday,  of  the  sixth  month  of  summer,  in  the  year  2153  of 
the  Greeks,  in  the  upper  room  of  the  kalleita,  of  the  church  of 
Mar  Gyuergis,  in  Ashitha.     Amen." 

That  the  Nestorians,  even  a  year  afterwards,  thought  no  more 
of  the  old  castle  than  Dr.  Grant  did,  appears  from  the  deed  of 
an  adjoining  terrace,  bought  at  that  time  for  a  garden,  in  which 
the  building  of  Dr.  Grant  is  called  a  house.  The  instrument, 
written  on  the  same  sheet  with  the  other,  is  as  follows  : 

"  Know  ye,  &c.,  that,  in  the  year  2154  of  the  Greeks,  Hekim 
Grant,  with  his  English  associates,  bought  a  small  field  in  front 
of  his  house^  and  joining  it  on  the  east,  from  Sepher,  son  of  Aziz, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  267 

for  the  sum  of  fifty  piastres,  in  the  presence  of  IMar  Shimon, 
Patriarcha,  and  Mar  Yoosuf,  Episkopa,  of  Aurmj,  and  Kasha 
Auraham,  and  Kasha  Mattai,  and  Kasha  Denha,  of  Jeramon, 
and  Sephoris,  and  Abdeeshua,  and  Auraham,  and  Yoosuf,  and 
all  the  sons  of  the  village  of  Ashitha,  Moreover,  no  man  shall 
have  power  over  Hekim  Grant  and  his  associates  to  take  from 
them  this  field  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  The  length  of  the 
field  is  eighty-two  dhraa  [cubits],  and  its  breadth  eight  dhraa." 


The  opening  sentence  of  the  first  deed,  as  it  stands  in  the 
original,  and  the  seal  of  Mar  Shimon,  are  here  subjoined. 


When  these  arrangements  were  completed,  as 
Amadia  had  now  submitted,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try was  so  quiet,  he  sent  Baho  to  bring  in  Mr. 
Hinsdale  as  far  as  Amadia,  whence  he  proposed 
to  escort  him  into  Ashitha ;  but  the  messenger 
had  seen  so  much  of  hard  fiire  in  the  mountains 
he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  return. 
22^ 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

VISIT   OF     MB,     3INSDALE     TO     THE     MOUNTAINS  —  CONFERENCE     OF     PAPISTS 

WITH    MAR    i  alMON RETURN    OF    MAR   YOOSUF    TO  OROOMIAH A'ISIT  OF 

ETR.    GRANT    TO    JULAMERK A    SUNLESS    WINTER INTERTIEAV  WITH  THE 

EMIR KURDISH    LADIES BANDITTI THEIR    WATS    AND    MEANS RE- 
TURN    TO     MOSUL DEATH     OF     MR.    HINSDALE -r- PLAN    TO     ASSASSINATE 

DR.    GRANT HIGH-CHURCH    OPPONENT HIS     OWN     STATE31ENTS HOW 

REGARDED    BY    OTHER    EPISCOPALIANS HIS   POLITICAL    INFLUENCE. 

On  the  last  day  of  September  Mr.  Hinsdale  started  for  Ash- 
itha,  and,  passing  through  Amadia,  arrived  there  in  safety,  Oct. 
7th.  Dr.  Grant  met  him  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  village. 
The  joy  of  that  meeting  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe.  For  the 
first  time  in  four  years  the  one  enjoyed  the  society  of  a  Chris- 
tian friend,  in  this  scene  of  hardship  and  danger.  The  other  at 
length  beheld  the  long-desired  field  of  future  toil,  and  hope 
whispered  of  many  happy  years  of  "  fellowship  in  the  sufi'erings 
of  Christ."  Mr.  Hinsdale  was  very  favorably  impressed  with 
the  appearance  of  the  place  and  the  prospects  of  the  mission  ; 
and  all,  from  the  Patriarch  to  the  common  people,  received  him 
with  the  utmost  cordiality.  "  For  this,"  says  he,  "  I  was  in- 
debted, under  God,  to  the  very  favorable  impression  made  by 
Dr.  Grant,  who  seems  to  possess  the  unbounded  confidence  of  all 
classes.  Several  told  him  that  they  had  received  him  as  one  of 
themselves ;  and,  now  that  I  had  come,  they  should  receive  me 
as  himself"  The  good  missionary  expressed  the  wish  "to  live 
and  die  amonj  iiem,"  and  the  response  was,  "  that  is  what  we 
also  desire."  Writing  home  u  fortnight  after  his  arrival, 
he  says,  "  I  have  carefully  examined  whether  Dr.  Grant  might 


D  R  .    G  II  A  >f  T     AND     T  HE     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  269 

not  have  given  too  nnicli  prominence  to  this  fieUl,  or  represented 
it  in  too  encouraging  a  light.  But  I  am  constrained  to  say  that, 
if  he  has  erred  at  all,  it  has  been  in  not  pressing  its  claims  with 
sufficient  earnestness."  They  spent  the  month  of  October  in 
mutual  prayers  and  labors,  till  the  papal  Bishop  of  Elkosh  and  a 
priest  from  Rome,  who  had  tried,  but  in  vain,  to  precede  Dr. 
Grant,  by  entering  from  the  Turkish  frontier,  arrived  at  Ashi- 
tha  on  the  27th.  They  brought  a  present  to  Mar  Shimon,  and 
wished  to  remain  till  a  larger  one  should  arrive,  then,  as  they 
said,  at  Diarbckr,  on  its  way.  He  had  an  interview  with  them, 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  assembly;  Mar  Yoosuf,  who  had  come 
with  Dr.  Grant  from  Oroomiah,  being  present  with  the  rest. 
The  arguments  of  the  papists  were  met  with  mucli  force  and 
scriptural  simplicity.  Mar  Shimon  claimed  equality  with  the 
Pope.  One  of  the  priests  said,  that  if  mere  succession  to  the 
chair  of  Peter  gave  power  to  the  Pope,  then  the  Sultan,  who  sat 
in  the  seat  of  Constantine,  was  entitled  to  the  spiritual  preroga- 
tives exercised  by  the  latter  over  the  churches  in  the  East.  The 
Patriarch  openly  commended  Dr.  Grant  and  his  associates,  as 
the  best  Christians  in  the  world  ;  because,  unlike  the  papists, 
who  follow  the  word  of  the  Pope,  they  took  the  word  of  God  as 
their  only  standard  of  faith  and  practice. 

The  baffled  papists  had  their  presents  returned,  and  were  for- 
bidden to  visit  any  other  part  of  the  mountains.  For  a  time 
they  delayed,  under  various  pretexts ;  but,  though  they  spared 
no  pains  in  assailing  both  the  character  of  the  missionaries  and 
their  objects,  they  were  compelled  to  return,  chagrined  and  dis- 
appointed. The  people,  meanwhile,  showed  a  deep  interest  in 
the  arrangements  of  Dr.  Grant ;  though,  as  he  says,  the  interest 
was  not  unmingled  with  marked  and  even  violent  selfishness. 
Men  of  all  ranks  quarrelled  with  each  other  for  employment  in 
the  severest  drudgery.  If  he  hired  those  who  brought  timber 
gratis,  all  were  read}'^  to  carry  heavy  beams  for  nothing  one  day, 
for  the  sake  of  ten  cents  daily  wages  the  rest  of  the  week  ;  and 


270  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

at  one  time  so  serious  was  the  uproar,  he  had  to  disiniss  the 
whole,  retire  to  Lezaii,  and  refuse  to  come  back  again  till  they 
were  quiet.  Mar  Shimon  then  divided  the  village  into  sections, 
which  were  to  furnish  laborers  in  rotation.  But  this  did  not 
succeed  in  preserving  order.  Dr.  Grant  then  took  one  from 
each  house  in  a  section  ;  but  even  then  he  had  to  let  them  know 
that  he  must  be  allowed  to  Inbor  in  quiet,  or  he  would  ceat^c 
altogether.  Few  men,  beside  Dr.  Grant,  would  have  dared  to 
take  such  a  stand,  or,  having  taken,  been  able  to  maintain  it. 
But  he  succeeded  to  his  entire  satisfaction,  though  all  he  says 
about  it  is  that  "  It  was  encouraging  to  witness  how  ready  an 
untamed  and  lawless  people  were  to  submit.  Though  they  knew 
we  did  not  fear  them,  yet  the  protection  of  our  persons  and 
property  must  be  ascribed,  primarily,  to  the  good  hand  of  God, 
for  fatal  assaults  on  each  other  are  by  no  means  rare." 

The  bishop  had  novv^  become  heartily  tired  of  the  mountains, 
and  longed  for  his  peaceful  home  on  the  plain.  Though  he  had 
been  fearless  and  tolerably  patient,  he  had  formed  no  attach- 
ment to  the  people.  Nor  is  this  surprising,  since,  for  the  first 
time  in  a  life  of  fifty  years,  he  had  been  taken  severely  ill,  far 
from  home  and  friends.  Yet,  in  communicating  religious  instruc- 
tion he  was  faithful  to  the  end ;  and  it  was  not  without  regret 
Dr.  Grant  suffered  him  to  depart,  just  in  time  to  reach  Oroomiah 
before  the  roads  were  blocked  up  by  the  snow.  His  servant  fled 
from  hardships  he  could  no  longer  endure.  The  hardy  bishop 
followed  in  his  footsteps.  Yet  the  missionary,  feeble  in  body 
bat  strong  in  spirit,  remained  at  his  post.  In  a  letter  sent  by 
the  bishop  to  Mr.  Stocking  he  says,  "  We  find  an  open  door  and 
a  hearirg  ear,  but  hard  hearts,  and  a  difiit3ult  though  interesting 
licld.'"  In  a  previous  one  he  had  said,  "  There  is  no  predicting 
the  future  here,  and  I  know  no  better  course  than  to  go  on  with 
our  work,  without  regarding  the  wind  or  the  clouds;  and  tlvin, 
when  a  storm  does  arise,  take  shelter  in  the  Lord,  or  wherever 
He  directs." 


MOUNTAIN     NKSTOllIANS.  271 

The  Patriarch  now  returned  to  Churaba,  and  the  departure  of 
his  much-loved  associate  to  Mosul,  just  as  Dr.  Grant  was  recov- 
ering from  an  attack  of  ague,  left  him  more  solitary  than  ever ; 
and  winter  had  already  mantled  the  mountains  in  white  when  he 
retired  to  his  lonely  house  at  Lezan.  But  scarcely  was  he  set- 
tled there,  ere  he  was  summoned  to  the  Patriarch.  The  emir 
had  just  returned  from  Badir  Khan  Bey,  and  report  said  had 
concerted  measures  with  him  for  the  complete  subjugation  of  the 
Nestorians.  The  men  of  Jelu  had  seized  mules  from  the  Kiinl.^, 
to  make  good  their  loss.  Mar  Shimon  had  retaliated  some  other 
injury  in  a  similar  manner,  and  a  report  was  spreading  among  the 
Kurds  that  Dr.  Grant  was  building  a  castle  to  defend  the  Nes- 
torians.    On  every  side  the  lowering  clouds  portended  a  storm. 

The  doctor  set  out  for  Chumba,  and  on  the  way  met  a  mes- 
sage from  the  emir,  requiring  his  immediate  professional 
attendance.  The  letter  was  short,  but  friendly ;  yet,  the  pro- 
verbial treachery  of  his  race,  and  his  own  increasing  hostility  to 
Mar  Shimon,  led  the  latter,  with  the  Malek,  strenuously  to  op- 
pose his  going.  But  "  Are  they  disinterested  ?  Are  they  not 
still  looking  for  political  help,  if  not  from  me,  yet  in  connection 
with  me  ?  "  were  the  questions  that  arose  in  the  mind  of  Dr. 
Grant.  Still  he  felt  there  was  real  danger.  Reports  might 
have  misrepresented  him,  and  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  chief. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  refuse  would  incur  certain  enmity,  and  he 
feared  for  the  effect  on  the  prospects  of  the  mission.  This  last 
decided  him.  It  was  now  Saturday ;  and,  after  spending  the 
Sabbath  in  seeking  wisdom  from  above,  he  preferred  personal 
exposure  rather  than  endanger  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
mission.  So,  after  trying  to  argue  the  case  with  Mar  Shimon, 
and  Avriting  letters  to  Mosul  on  Monday,  he  set  out  for  Jula- 
merk  on  Tuesday,  Nov.  29th,  amid  mingled  blessing  and  forebod- 
ing. His  road  was  the  same  as  in  1839 ;  it  is  so  bad  that  the 
people  here  carry  their  loads  bn  their  own  backs  rather  than  on 
mules  —  one  man  taking  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  pound?. 


272  D  11  .     G  K  A  N  T     AND     T  II  E 

Our  boxes  of  books  from  Oroomiah  had  to  be  carried  two  or 
three  days'  journey  in  the  same  manner. 

A  Jacobite  from  Mosul  was  with  him,  instead  of  Baho ;  and 
hired  mules  supplied  the  place  of  his  own,  that  had  returned 
with  Mr.  Hinsdale.  No  degree  of  familiarity  could  divest  the 
scenery  of  its  grandeur.  •The  stupendous  cliffs  excited  new 
wonder,  and  the  roar  of  the  rushing  river  was  by  turns  stunning 
and  inspiriting,  as  before.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Berzawa  (Ber- 
dizawi  of  Ainsworth)  the  mountains  were  particularly  grand. 
Towering  up  thousands  of  feet,  they  seemed  like  giant  castles, 
now  crowned  with  purest  white,  now  mantled  in  the  sunlit  clouds. 
The  place  is  thus  described  by  his  associate  in  1844:  "All 
around  the  walls  of  rock  inclined  at  irregular  angles ;  but  directly 
opposite  an  isolated  precipice  towered  up  to  a  giddy  height. 
Its  form  was  rounded.  Horizontal  strata,  piled  up  tier  above 
tier,  gradually  lessened  in  size  as  they  rose,  till  the  eye  grew 
weary  in  following  them.  It  was  one  of  nature's  wonders,  mock- 
ing the  puny  works  of  man.  But,  to  appreciate  it,  you  must 
stand  on  that  low  wall,  amid  the  dashing  spray,  in  a  gorge  so 
deep  that  the  sun  scarce  reaches  it  at  noonday  ;  and,  the  view 
shut  in  on  every  side,  you  must  see  for  yourself  this  castle  of  the 
mountains  towering  up  before  you  in  all  its  Titan  regularity  and 
grandeur." 

Deep  in  the  rocky  glen  of  the  Berzawa  stood  human  dwellings 
that  never  see  the  sun  during  their  long  and  dreary  winter.  It 
was  curious  to  trace  the  limit  of  sunshine  distinctly  marked 
on  the  mountain  above  them,  by  the  line  that  divided  the  bare 
earth  from  the  snow  below.  All  above  it  basked  in  the  warm 
rays  of  a  noon-day  sun  ;  all  below  was  frozen  hard,  and  so  con- 
tinues till  spring  revisits  the  wintry  abode.  And  yet,  even  with 
such  deep,  narrow  chasms,  — they  can  hardly  be  called  valleys, 
—  Dr.  Grant  never  met  with  a  case  of  goitre,  or  similar  diseases, 
so  prevalent  among  the  Alps. 

He  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  small  village  of  Derawa  'd 


MOUNTAIN     NE3T0RIANS.  273 

Walto,  where  an  old  friend  assigned  him  a  room,  Avith  hardly 
space  to  spread  his  rug,  amid  goat-skins  filled  with  winter  stores. 
He  was  making  the  best  of  his  narrow  quarters,  when  the  head 
man  of  the  village  transferred  him  to  a  spacious  upper  room, 
whose  open  sides  were  partially  closed  with  wicker-work  and 
straw.  A  blazing  fire  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  was  quite  wel- 
come, and  a  good  supper  still  more  so  ;  for  there  is  nothing  like 
the  air  of  these  mountains  and  the  exercise  of  their  roads  to  dis- 
pose a  man  to  eat  whatever  is  set  before  him,  even  though  its 
quality  be  none  of  the  best. 

He  had  heard  that  the  Nestorians  and  Kurds  were  collecting 
for  a  skirmish  on  the  road  before  him ;  but,  as  the  only  alterna- 
tive was  to  pass  through  the  country  of  the  Sillee  Kurds,  who 
might  not  be  very  friendly,  if  the  emir  was  hostile,  he  kept 
on  his  way,  and  next  day,  as  the  bridge  was  gone,  crossed 
the  Zab  on  some  frail  poles,  resting  on  rocks  about  twenty  feet 
above  the  water.  After  he  had  prescribed  for  the  most  needy 
of  a  crowd  of  patients,  in  the  Kurdish  village  of  Dizza,  hia 
attendants  led  him  out  of  the  usual  road,  along  a  solitary  foot- 
path, to  the  very  summit  of  the  mountain.  This  was  a  device 
of  theirs  to  avoid  any  ambush  that  might  have  been  laid  for 
him,  and  was  carefully  concealed,  even  from  himself,  till  it  was 
too  late  to  turn  back.  The  ascent  was  slow  and  toilsome  ;  but, 
once  on  the  top,  the  grand  view  of  snowy  mountains  on  every 
side  amply  repaid  him.  He  kept  along  just  under  the  rocky 
crest  of  the  range,  higher  or  lower,  as  he  could  best  obtain  a 
footing ;  and,  at  the  extremity,  found  himself  in  sight  of  the 
castle  of  Julamerk,  and  another,  then  in  ruins,  on  one  of  the. 
peaks  of  the  same  mountain  on  which  he  stood.  It  is  appro- 
priately termed  Kala  El  Hawa  (castle  of  the  winds) ;  and,  like 
many  others  in  similar  situations,  has  been  deserted  for  anothei 
more  accessible.  Whether  because  the  fiery  spirit  of  their 
fathers  burns  less  fiercely  in  the  hearts  of  the  present  generation, 
or  because  their  modes  of  warfare  have  changed,  does  not  appear 


274  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

He  entered  the  castle  of  Julainerk  just  at  dusk,  and  was  led 
through  iron-bound  doors,  and  long,  winding  passages,  to  a 
vaulted  room,  assigned  him  by  the  chief.  Exhausted  and  faint,  he 
threw  himself  ujDon  a  rug  in  one  corner,  querying  whether  it  were 
not  his  prison.  He  thought  of  the  dissuasions  of  the  Patriarch. 
"  Why  was  I  brought  to  this  remote  part  of  the  castle,  —  this 
strange  apartment  I  had  never  seen  before  ?  "  But  then  it  was 
neat  and  comfortable.  Lights  were  soon  brought ;  and,  ere  long, 
the  hearty  welcome  of  many  a  familiar  voice  proclaimed  "  All 's 
well !  "  In  an  hour  he  was  summoned  to  the  presence  of  the 
chief.  He  found  him  in  a  spacious  apartment  of  the  harem, 
spread  with  rich  Persian  carpets,  and  ornamented  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  arms  and  porcelain  intermingled.  The  emir  sat  on  a 
yellow  satin- divan,  bolstered  up  with  pillows  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. Ten  or  twelve  of  his  chief  officers,  an  uncle,  and  his 
cousin,  Suleiman  Bey,  sat  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room.  He 
never  seemed  more  glad  to  see  the  doctor,  and  expressed  much 
gratitude  for  the  trouble  he  had  taken  to  come  and  see  him.  He 
said  he  had  been  quite  sick ;  but,  Al  humdoo  lillah  (thanks  to 
God),  he  hoped  he  was  better,  at  the  same  time  holding  out  his 
hand  for  the  doctor  to  feel  his  pulse.  That  done,  conversation 
took  a  wider  range. 

Emir.  —  Well,  what  have  you  been  doing  since  we  parted? 

Doctor.  —  A  part  of  the  time  I  have  been  building,  with  the 
emir's  permission. 

Emir.  —  But  I  hear  you  are  building  a  castle,  —  how  is  that  ? 
How  many  rooms  have  you  ? 

Doctor.  —  Four,  built  of  loose  stone  laid  up  in  mud,  no  higher 
than  a  man  can  reach.  A  fine  castle,  truly,  that  a  man  can 
pull  down  with  his  hands  !  And  what  is  to  defend  it  ?  Did  you 
ever  see  me  armed  ? 

Emir.  —  (Turning  to  his  council.)  There,  did  I  not  tell  you 
he  was  a  true  man  ? 

The  doctor  learned,  next  morning,  that  when  the  report  came 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  275 

the  emir  said,  "  I  do  not  believe  it ;  but  I  will  send  for  him. 
If  he  comes,  he  is  an  honest  man ;  if  not,  it  may  be  true,  and 
we  must  look  into  the  matter."  Then,  turning  to  the  doctor  : 
"  Well,  I  did  not  believe  the  story.  But  what  are  those  large 
holes  in  the  sides  of  your  house  ?  (The  Nestorians  have  no  win- 
dows in  their  dwellings.)  They  say  they  are  dikkans  (stalls  or 
slops).  Are  you  building  a  bazaar?"  He  laughed  heartily 
as  the  doctor  drew  a  picture  of  a  structure  at  once  a  fort  without 
a  gun,  and  a  bazaar  without  anything  for  sale,  and  then  re- 
sumed :  "  But  why  go  away  there  ?  Conje  here,  and  I  will 
build  you  a  better  house.  You  want  to  instruct  the  Christians. 
Very  well ;  here  are  Christians,  and  more  will  come  if  you  do." 
The  doctor  reminded  him  that  his  associates  must  be  in  the 
midst  of  the  people.  But  the  emir  evidently  wished  him  to  be 
within  reach,  and  that  any  benefit  arising  from  his  residence  in 
the  mountains  might  accrue  to  Julamerk.  Supper  was  now 
brought  in,  and  never  was  their  fine  pilav  more  inviting.  Cofi'ee 
followed,  and  the  doctor  had  the  honor  of  the  company  of  the 
ladies  for  the  rest  of  the  evening.  This  he  never  had  in  Persia 
or  Turkey  ;  though  he  had  once  been  privileged,  as  Hekim,  to  eat 
with  a  Persian  princess  and  her  husband,  who  was  uncle  to  the 
Shah.  But  that  was  in  the  seclusion  of  the  harem,  and  this  in  a 
promiscuous  circle.  Kurdish  women  enjoy  much  of  the  respect 
accorded  to  their  sex  by  the  ancient  Persians,  especially  moth- 
ers, who  are  honored  according  to  the  number  of  their  children. 
In  this  case,  the  younger  wife,  though  evidently  a  favorite,  stood 
at  a  respectful  distance,  while  the  mother  of  the  young  chief 
had  her  place  by  his  side.  He  too  was  there,  and  inquired 
after  his  little  playmate  Hemy  Martyn.  Altogether,  to  the 
doctor  it  seemed  much  like  home.  Yet  he  could  not  but  think 
how  it  would  seem,  when  the  emir  is  absent  for  months,  at  Bash 
Kala,  with  the  mother  of  his  eldest  son  and  prospective  suc- 
cessor ;  or  to  her  then  two  years  absent  from  her  husband,  if  the 
names  husband,  wife  and  home,  may  be  thus  desecrated. 
23 


276  DR.     GRANT     AND    THE 

The  ladies  were  adorned  with  a  profusion  *.f  ornaments,  of 
massive  silver,  from  the  top  of  the  kiirs  ^  to  the  tinkling  orna- 
ments on  their  feet.  Their  wrists  were  so  loaded  with  bracelets 
the  doctor  found  it  difficult  to  feel  their  pulse.  Their  silk 
tunics  were  quilted  so  thick  they  might  have  stood  alone.  Tiiey 
wore  no  veils ;  and  nothing  but  a  little  artificial  coloring  con- 
cealed their  faces  from  the  circle  he  met  there  day  after  day. 

The  chief  was  ever  devising  some  new  amusement.  At  one 
time  the  doctor  must  read  English,  and,  at  another,  teach  him  to 
do  the  same.  His  green-turbaned  moollah,  too,  wanted  him  to 
show  them  how  we  prayed,  and  the  doctor  gave  him  a  specimen 
of  our  preaching  instead ;  —  explaining  the  spiritual  nature  of 
prayer,  and  the  solemn  manner  in  which  it  became  us  to  draw 
near  to  God ;  and  asking  how  he,  a  religious  teacher,  could  so 
make  light  of  sacred  things.  All  listened  with  attention  ;  and 
the  chief  approved,  and  added  to  this  rebuke  of  his  own  clerical 
companion.  Thus  was  Dr.  Grant  ever  on  the  watch  to  do  good, 
and  so  wisely  could  he  speak  a  word  in  season. 

During  his  stay  the  emir  pronounced  sentence  of  death  on 
one  of  the  highest  local  governors.  He  was  then  a  prisoner  in 
a  distant  castle,  and  thither  half  a  score  of  his  reckless  robbers 
were  immediately  despatched.  The  doctor  met  them  returning 
from  the  bloody  deed,  and  could  not  but  shudder  at  the  educa- 
tion of  these  young  men.  They  boasted  to  him  of  the  number 
of  murders  and  robberies  they  had  committed.  One  of  them 
had  just  plundered  a  caravan,  between  Mosul  and  Amadia. 
They  go  out  in  parties,  and  learn  the  intended  movements  of 
travellers,  and  then  waylay  them.  The  villagers  dare  not  warn 
their  intended  victims,  lest  they  suffer  in  their  stead ;  and  hence 
the  frequent  choice  of  an  unfrequented  route,  or  a  movement  so 
rapid  as  to  anticipate  theirs. 

Ismael  Pasha,  at  this  time,  was  in  the  castle,  arranging  to 

*  A  round  disc  of  silver,  sometimes  of  gold,  worn  on  the  top  of  tlie 
head.  —  See  Lane's  Modern  Egyptians,  i.  359. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  277 

annoy  the  Pasha  of  Mosul  through  the  banditti  of  Zeiner 
Bey,  an  ex -chief  of  Berwer,  who  ravaged  the  borders  of  the 
pashalic,  for  many  months,  with  impunity. 

Dr.  Grant  now  heard  no  more  of  the  alliance  with  Persia. 
Overtures  from  the  Turks,  through  the  Pasha  of  Van,  and  the 
original  plan  of  subduing  the  Nestorians,  were  again  on  the  tapis. 
He  ventured  to  speak  of  peace ;  but  the  emir  would  hear  of 
nothing  but  unconditional  submission.  So  he  disclaimed  all 
interference.  The  chief  evidently  expected  help,  or  he  would 
have  assumed  a  milder  tone.  It  was  said  he  had  already  ma- 
tured his  arrangements  with  Badir  Khan  Bey,  and  he  was  now 
in  correspondence  with  the  Pasha  of  Erzrum. 

Dr.  Grant  made  a  hurried  visit  to  the  Patriarch's  family  in 
Diss,  and  saw  the  ruins  of  the  house  where  first  he  met  him. 
Now,  how  changed  !  The  family  he  found  in  a  neighboring 
vilhige,  living  in  comparative  poverty.  The  chief  had  then  just 
inflicted  some  injuries,  which  they  repaid  next  spring,  with 
interest.  This  was  more  bold  than  prudent,  when  their  very 
existence  was  in  danger.  He  arrived  in  the  evening,  and 
returned  to  Julamerk  next  morning,  when  his  ague  returned 
with  such  violence  that  he  was  bewildered,  and  almost  senseless. 
Medicine,  aided  by  the  motherly  care  of  his  old  friend,  soon 
relieved  him.  She  again  warned  him  against  the  wiles  of  the 
emir,  saying,  often,  "  Kermanj  baebucht "  (Kurds  are  treacher- 
ous, or  graceless). 

On  the  7th  of  December  he  left  the  castle,  with  a  guide  from 
the  emir,  and  spent  the  night  among  the  Sillee  Kurds,  one  of 
the  smallest  of  the  fifteen  clans  of  the  Hakkary  tribe.  Next 
morning  he  rose  early,  and  ate  a  late  breakflist  with  his  Nesto- 
rian  friends  at  the  Zab.  As  the  poles  had  broken,  or  been  car- 
ried away,  he  had  to  ford  the  river  below  ;  but,  once  across,  he 
felt  a  relief  at  being  again  among  friends,  and  away  from  the 
treacherous  Kurds.  He  was  now,  in  his  turn,  the  protector  of 
a  messenger  from  the  emir,  on  his  way  to  Mosul ;  and  he  was 


278  DR.     GRANT    AND     THE 

also  glad  to  be  able  to  secure  the  release  of  the  Kurdish  mules 
the  day  of  his  arrival  at  Chumba,  which  he  reached  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  Patriarch  and 
friends.  The  night  after  he  spent  with  Hciyo,  who  was  now 
much  attached  to  him. 

On  the  11th  he  returned  to  A^hitha,  worn  down  by  illness 
and  fatigue.  Providentially  the  snow  was  later  than  usual,  or 
his  way  would  have  been  cut  off.  He  now  only  waited  the 
arrival  of  his  messenger  from  Mosul,  to  return  and  carry  on  his 
work  in  quiet  at  Lezan. 

He  had  already  w^ritten  to  Mr.  L.,  Nov.  8 :  "  I  would  fain 
come  at  once  to  meet  you,  did  not  other  duties  detain  me  here. 
Meantime,  I  send  a  living  epistle  in  the  person  of  our  brother, 
who  will  tell  you  all  that  concerns  our  prospects,  and  how  de- 
sirous I  am  to  see  you  here,  if  possible,  before  winter.  I  will 
not  dwell  on  my  lonely  situation  as  a  plea  for  your  society, 
though  I  have  learned  that,  in  these  mountains  especially,  '  it  is 
not  good  for  man  to  be  alone.'     There  are  other  considerations. 

I  hope  that,  however  trying  this  may  be  to  Mrs.  L., 

on  her  first  arrival  in  this  strange  land,  she  will  cheerfully  fore- 
go all  personal  considerations,  for  the  cause  of  her  Redeemer. 
I  need  not  say  how  cordially  I  would  welcome  her  at  our  moun- 
tain-cottage did  not  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and  our  want  of 
accommodation  for  ladies,  constrain  me  to  forego  that  pleasure 
till  spring.  Please  present  to  her,  and  accept  for  yourself,  the 
warmest  assurances  of  the  hearty  welcome  I  now  tender  to  you 
both  in  anticipation." 

How  this  plan  was  frustrated  will  appear  from  the  following 
letter  to  Mr.  Stocking  :  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  reached  Mosul  on 
the  12th  of  Xovember,  (ne  day  before  the  return  of  Mr.  Hins- 
dale, who  had  refreshed  me  by  a  delightful  visit  of  a  month. 
He  writes  me,  they  '  are  both  suffering  much  from  illness.  Mr. 
L.  has  had  a  severe  chill  every  day  since  his  arrival,  and  the 
fever  following  it  has  lasted  for  several  hours.     Mrs.  L.,  too, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR  lANS.  279 

since  last  night,  has  been  in  much  distress,  though  for  the  last 
two  hours  she  has  been  more  quiet,  and  has  now  fallen  asleep. 
Mr.  Badger  is  here,  and  has  commenced  operations  by  assailing 
us.  I  have  not  yet  seen  him.  He  has  brought  letters  from  the 
Jacobite  Patriarch  to  have  the  schools  suspended,  and  that  the 
people  here  take  no  books,  either  from  us  or  from  him.  I  have 
been  told,  confidentially,  by  the  three  leading  deacons,  that  they 
have  received  a  private  letter  from  their  bishop,  telling  them  two 
sects  were  coming  to  Mosul,  and  charging  them  to  beware,  most 
of  all,  of  Mr.  Badger.  They  said,  also,  that  the  Patriarch's 
object  was  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  favoring  either  party 
till  the  bishop  should  come  and  manage  his  own  affairs.  We 
have  as  warm  friends  here  as  ever,  and  the  leading  men  are 
evidently  much  prejudiced  against  Mr.  Badger,  by  the  course  he 
has  taken  against  us.'  " 

But  this  was  not  the  worst.  Another  messenger  brought  word 
—  December  13  —  that  Mr.  Hinsdale  was  dangerously  sick. 
Constant  and  unwearied  attendance  on  his  sick  companions, 
while  yet  sufi'ering  from  a  cold  contracted  in  the  mountains,  had 
induced  fever  of  a  complicated  and  alarming  type.  His  disease 
had  already  run  two  weeks.  So,  making  what  arrangements  he 
could  for  the  schools,  next  morning  found  Dr.  Grant  on  his  way 
to  Mosul.  His  route  through  Dawudia  led  him  through  the 
most  populous  part  of  Berwer,  and  he  spent  the  night  at  the 
Nestorian  village  of  Miisekin.  The  chief  of  that  part  of  the 
district  was  there,  and  treated  him  with  much  kindness ;  —  a  fact 
the  more  worthy  of  notice,  as  the  Pasha  of  Mosul  had  reported 
at  Constantinople  a  letter  from  this  chief,  complaining  of  his 
operations  in  Ashitha.  The  letter  was  afterwards  ascertained 
to  have  been  written,  in  the  name  of  the  chief,  at  the  dicta- 
tion of  the  pasha  himself.  Next  morning  he  crossed  Tura 
Matineh,  and  breakfasted  at  Dawudia,  with  the  Turkish  com- 
mander of  the  garrison.  That  evening  he  spent  at  Baadry,  and 
next  morning  struck  across  to  Elkosh,  famous  for  the  tomb  of 
23* 


280  OR-  f'  1^  A  i^'  '^  ^  ^"  ^   '^^^^ 

the  prophet  Nahum,  and  the  convent  of  Rabban  Hormuz.  The 
latter  was  then  just  as  it  had  been  left  by  Ismael  Pasha,  who 
destroyed  the  library,  and  carried  off  the  monks  prisoners  to 
Amadia,  where  several  were  killed  by  torture  before  they  were 
ransomed.  The  torture  was  inflicted  to  make  them  reveal  a 
treasur3,  said  to  be  hidden  in  the  convent.  The  village  was 
sacked  at  the  same  time ;  and  the  whole  charged  to  the  influence 
of  a  young  Chaldean,  in  the  employ  of  Ismael  Pasha,  who  was  a 
near  relative  of  Mar  Elias.  On  the  ground  of  this  charge,  the 
whole  family  were  imprisoned  at  Mosul,  and  made  to  work  with 
the  convicts  in  the  powder-mill,  till,  in  the  utter  want  of  evi- 
dence against  them,  they  were  at  length  released. 

Dr.  Grant  was  treated  kindly  at  Elkosh  as  a  physician,  if  not 
as  a  missionary ;  and,  hastening  on,  he  reached  Mosul  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  17th,  —  only  three  days  from  Ashitha.  But 
it  was  too  late  to  save  his  lamented  associate.  His  fever  had 
assumed  a  typhoid  character,  and  was  complicated  with  organic 
disease,  which,  with  the  internal  hemorrhage  that  supervened, 
closed  his  valuable  life  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  in  the  thirty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  not  been  two  years  in  the  field ; 
and  yet,  in  this  short  period,  he  had  shown  rare  qualifications 
for  his  work.  After  his  death  some  of  the  leading  Jacobites 
said  to  us,  "  If  any  of  the  saints  are  in  heaven,  Mr.  Hinsdale 
is  there."  His  end  was  peace.  Throughout  his  sickness  he 
evinced  the  most  entire  resignation.  Even  during  his  delirium, 
when  Mrs.  H.,  thinking  he  wanted  some  food,  asked  him,  "  la 
there  anything  you  would  like  ?  "  he  answered,  "  I  should  like  to 
have  the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father  done.  —  0,  yes  !  I  should 
like  that !  "  It  was  his  ruling  passion  strong  in  death.  To  do 
the  will  of  God,  and  have  it  done  by  others,  was  his  great  object 
here,  and  still  is  in  that  better  world  whither  he  is  gone.  In  all 
things  he  evinced  a  spirit  that  made  us  feel  he  was  just  the  man 
we  -would  have  selected  for  our  associate.  Dr.  Grant  was 
allowed  to  be  with  him  only  ten  days  before  he  died,  and  deeply 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR lANS.  281 

felt  his  loss.  "  0,  what  a  loss  !  "  writes  he  to  a  friend.  "  How 
and  when  it  will  be  repaired,  God  only  knows.  A  dear  brother 
and  faithful  missionary  has  gone,  and  that  at  the  very  moment 
when  his  servicts  seemed  needed  the  most.  I  feel  sometimes 
almost  like  breaking  down  under  the  weight  of  care  and  respons- 
ibility." 

Mr.  Hinsdale  was  buried  in  the  court  of  the  Jacobite  church 
of  Mar  Toma;  and  his  bereaved  associates  were  grieved  and 
astonished  to  learn,  a  few  days  after,  from  the  people  themselves, 
that  Mr.  Badger  had  translated  for  them  what  he  called  portions 
of  the  prayer  offered  at  the  grave,  representing  them  as  heathen  ; 
stating,  at  the  same  time,  that  we  held  them  up  to  the  contempt 
of  Christendom  in  the  pages  of  the  Missionary  Herald. 

But,  though  unable  to  save  Mr.  Hinsdale  from  death,  Dr. 
Grant  arrived  just  in  time  to  save  his  own  life  from  the  assassin. 
The  pasha  had  written  to  the  chief  of  Nirwa  to  despatch  him 
privately;  but  a  watchful  Providence  kept  back  the  letter  from 
its  destination  till  the  intended  victim  was  out  of  reach.  His 
sudden  arrival,  therefore,  was  as  surprising  to  the  pasha  as  it 
was  gratifying  to  his  friends.  But  he  received  him  with  as 
much  external  kindness  as  though  nothing  had  occurred  ;  and  the 
doctor  was  called  on  to  attend  him  as  physician,  as  before.  It 
was  part  of  an  effort  of  the  pasha  to  get  rid  of  all  European 
reporters  of  his  evil  deeds,  and  illustrates  what  has  been  already 
•said  of  the  difficulty  the  natives  found  in  making  known  the 
oppression  they  suffered  at  his  hands. 

Mutran  Athanasius  left  Mosul  for  India  a  few  days  before 
Dr.  Grant  arrived  from  the  mountains,  but  not  till  he  had 
sharply  rebuked  Mr.  Badger  for  telling  the  Jacobites  that  the 
Syriac  Bibles  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  were 
deficient,  because  they  did  not  contain  the  Apocrypha ;  or,  as 
Mr.  Badger  himself  says,  in  his  book,  "  expressing  regret  that 
the  Apocrypha  was  not  published  with  thorn."  ^ 

*  Nestorians  and  their  Rituals   i.  71. 


282  DR.     G  II  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

It  will  be  difficult  to  write  the  biography  of  Dr.  Grant,  from 
this  date,  without  giving  some  account  of  Mr.  Badger,  who  came 
to  Mosul  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  opposing  his  mission.  He 
was  a  young  man  of  much  energy  and  perseverance ;  the  son  of 
a  pious  widow  in  Malta,  where  Mr.  Temple  introduced  him  into  our 
printing-office,  then  on  that  island.  From  thence  he  removed  to 
Beirut,  and  labored  some  time  in  connection  with  the  press  of 
that  station.  But,  becoming  imbued  with  the  high-church  notions, 
—  or,  as  it  might  be  termed,  the  ecclesiolatry,  so  prevalent  in 
some  quarters,  —  he  was  sent  out  by  the  Bishops  of  London  and 
Canterbury  to  testify  the  good-will  of  the  Church  of  England  to 
the  Nestorian  clergy,  and  render  such  assistance  to  them  in  the 
work  of  Christian  education  as  they  might  approve.  Besides 
this,  he  was  to  distribute  the  Bible  and  the  English  Liturgy,  and 
collect  ancient  manuscripts,  both  in  Syriac  and  Arabic,  especially 
the  scriptures,  rituals  and  liturgies. 

Mr.  Badger  might  have  done  all  this  without  pursuing  the 
course  he  did.  He  need  not  have  gone  further  than  certain 
bishops  in  this  country,  who  wrote  to  the  Jacobites,  informing 
them  "  that  the  church  in  the  United  States  had  no  ecclesiastical 
connection  with  the  followers  of  Luther  and  Calvin,  and  took  no 
part  in  their  plans  or  operations  to  diffuse  the  principles  of  their 
sects."  But  this  was  not  enough  for  his  ardent  mind.  He  tells 
us  in  his  own  book,^  that  "  the  unwarrantable  sectarian  pro- 
ceedings of  American  missionaries  among  the  Armenians  con- 
firmed him  in  the  opinion  that  he  ought  to  hold  no  intercourse 
with  them,  and  decided  him  not  to  return  the  visits  which  one  or 
two  of  them  obligingly  paid  him."  One  of  these  was  Mr.  Tem- 
ple, already  referred  to.  "  In  this  act,"  he  adds,  "  I  did  vio- 
lence to  my  own  natural  feelings ;  but  I  had  a  duty  to  perform 
for  the  church."  He  justifies  his  course  t  by  the  charge  that, 
"  notwithstanding  the  wide  difference  between  us,  they  (the  mis- 

♦  I.  9.  t  I.  6. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  28.3 

sionarles),  designedly  or  otherwise,  give  it  to  be  understood 
that  they  hold  the  same  faith  that  we  do,  and  differ  only  on  the 
most  trivial  points  ;  "  adding,  "  this  opinion  has  been  so  deeply 
impressed  on  the  great  mass  of  native  Christians,  a?id  has 
been  so  strengthened  by  the  manner  in  ivhich  jnany  of  our  oivn 
missionaries  have  fraternized  vjith  thcrn,  that  I  have  found  it  i\ 
most  difficult  task  to  persuade  them  to  the  contrary."  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  either  he  or  "  many  of  his  own  7nissiona- 
rles  "  were  mistaken.  And  if  they  were  right,  then  as  certainly  he 
Avas  wrong.  If,  out  of  the  "  7nany  of  his  own  missionaries,"  and 
"  the  great  mass  of  the  native  Christians,"  he  alone  rightly  dis- 
cerned the  truth,  he  might  have  pardoned  those  w'ho  fell  into  so 
general  an  error. 

He  then  goes  on  to  say,  on  the  same  page,  that  "  the  right 
which  the  committee  of  the  American  Dissenting  Board  "  —  I 
give  the  title  as  I  iSnd  it — "arrogate  to  labor  among  the 
Eastern  Christians  is  as  ludicrous  as  it  is  presumptuous ;  "  and 
quotes  the  remark  of  Dr.  Anderson,  as  an  illustration,  who  says, 
speaking  of  Mr.  Ainsworth's  visit :  "  Some  consequences  have 
resulted  from  this  partial  interference  that,  of  course,  were  not 
anticipated,  but  which  show  the  importance  of  carefully  avoiding 
whatever  would  tend  to  awaken  the  thought  among  the  Nesto- 
rian  ecclesiastics  that  there  are  rival  Protestant  sects  and  inter- 
ests, upon  which  they  may  practise  for  the  private  gratification 
of  avaricious  desires  ;  "  and  then  publishes  a  letter  to  the  bishops 
who  sent  him,  in  which  he  says,  *  that  as  the  Patriarch  had 
written,  saying  that  he  had  opened  two  schools,  and  wanted 
money,  he  informed  "  his  Holiness  "  that,  "  though  he  preferred 
the  priests  who  taught  should  be  paid  by  him,  yet  he  was  not  at 
liberty  to  place  such  large  sums  at  his  disposal ; "  and  adds, 
"  I  have  moreo*  3r  requested  his  Holiness  to  inform  Kasha  Mendu 
(the  messenger)   where  he  has  already  opened  the  two  schools 

*  I.  249. 


284  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

mentioned  in  his  letter,  and  have  directed  the  Kasha  to  visit 
them  before  he  returns,  as  I  have  some  fear  that  he  may  mean 
those  under  the  direction  of  the  American  missionaries^  at  Ash- 
itha  and  Lezan.  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  have  my  doubts  on 
the  subject." 

On  his  arrival  at  Mosul,  both  he  and  Mrs.  Badger  were 
attacked  with  fever,  and  he  "  records  with  gratitude  the  kind 
professional  services  of  Dr.  Grant,  which  he  spontaneously 
offered  them  during  their  sickness."  But  he  does  not  tell  that 
he  commenced  the  vrar  even  before  he  was  able  to  leave  the 
house,  seeking  to  undermine  his  influence,  and  destroy  all  that 
he  had  accomplished  through  years  of  lonely  privation  and 
constant  danger. 

Dr.  Grant  knew  his  errand,  and  yet  visited  and  prescribed  for 
him  as  he  did  for  his  own  associates ;  and  often  did  he  express 
his  delight  in  the  opportunity  to  show  them  kindness. 

We  have  seen  Dr.  Grant  leave  the  mountains,  where  he  had 
designed  to  spend  the  winter,  and  hasten  to  the  bedside  of  his 
dying  brother.  He  intended  to  return,  but  various  causes  con- 
spired to  detain  him  till  ..April.  The  snow  seldom  disappears 
from  the  village  of  Ashitha  till  the  month  of  May.  But  Mr. 
Badger  hurried  off  in  the  middle  of  February;  advanced  on 
foot  when  his  mules  could  press  no  further ;  slid  down  from  the 
top  of  the  mountain  before  Ashitha  on  the  surface  of  the 
frozen  snow,  and  had  an  interview  with  Mar  Shimon  in  the  vil- 
lage. Of  the  character  and  object  of  that  interview  we  are  not 
left  to  mere  conjecture.  He  himself  tells  us,  ^  "  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  American  dissenters  necessarily  formed  a  leading 
topic  of  our  discourse.  I  did  not  fail  to  acquaint  the  Patriarch 
how  far  we  are  removed  from  them  in  doctrine  and  discipline. 
/  showed  hiin^  moreover,  that  it  would  be  injudicious,  and  by  no 
fneaTts  satisfy  us,  to  have  schools  among  his  people  by  the  side  of 

*  Nestorians  and  their  Rituals,  i.  248. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  285 

theirs,  and  p.  essed  upon  him  to  decide  what  plan  he  would  pur- 
sue under  existing  circumstances."  Lest  any  should  think  that  his 
church  sympathized  with  him  in  such  a  course,  perhaps  it  ought 
liere  to  be  stated  that  one  of  her  bishops,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches,  has  actually  proposed  sending  another  of  their  clergy  to 
the  Patriarch,  to  undo  the  mischief  he  occasioned ;  and  an  Amer- 
ican missionary-bishop  —  Ilev.  H.  Southgate  —  felt  so  ashamed 
of  his  proceedings,  that,  in  a  letter  dated  Constantinople,  Dec. 
6,  1843,  he  writes :  "  Mr.  Badger  assumed  a  position  of 
violent  hostility  towards  the  American  missionaries,  and  showed 
it  in  all  his  proceedings.  I  opposed  this  with  my  whole  strength; 
and  to  it  he  owes  all  the  trouble  which  has  befallen  him.  The 
Society  under  which  he  acts  never  instructed  him  to  pursue  such 
a  course."^ 

His  political  influence  during  this  visit  was  not  much  more 
favorable.  While  he  was  in  Ashitha  two  messengers  came  from 
the  emir,  desiring  Mar  Shimon  to  appoint  a  place  where  they 
might  meet  and  confer  on  their  differences.  The  Patriarch 
refused,  and  the  Pvurds,  both  in  Jezira  and  Julamerk,  attributed 
the  refusal  to  the  advice  of  Mr.  Badger.  Dr.  Grant  wrote 
concerning  this,  just  before  his  last  sickness,  as  follows  :  "  It 
was  an  unfortunate  incident  that  the  Patriarch's  brother  should 
say  to  the  messengers,  pointing  to  Mr.  Badger,  '  It  is  just  as 
these  men  say,  —  the  country  is  theirs,  not  ours.'  It  could 
hardly  fail  to  awaken  jealousy  of  foreigners,  as  I  have  good 
reason  to  believe  it  did.  Mr.  Badger's  influence,  if  he  exerted  any, 
should  have  been  in  favor  of  peace.  But  so  it  was  not  under- 
stood to  be  by  the  Kurds."  One  of  those  very  messengers  said  to 
Dr.  Smith  and  Mr.  L.,  at  Berchulla,  near  Julamerk,  in  1844  : 
"I  see  you  are  very  different  from  other  Englishmen ;  for  you 
wish  to  maintain  peace  with  all  men.     But  when  I  delivered 

*  See  JVew  York  Observer,  1844,  p.  27.  See,  also,  on  this  topic,  Lay- 
ard's  "  Babylon  and  Nine\eh,"  pp.  424 — 5. 


286  D  R  .     G  It  A  N  T     AND     T  U  E 

my  message  to  Mar  Shimon,  in  Ashitha,  in  the  presence  of  Mr. 
Badger,  as  soon  as  it  was  translated  to  him,  he  recommended  tlie 
Ftttriarch  not  to  seek  the  friendship  of  the  Kurds,  but  to  apply 
for  aid,  if  he  needed  it,  to  England,  which,  he  said,  was  able  and 
wiliing  to  grant  him  the  fullest  protection, — and  so  the  emir  could 
not  get  the  ear  of  the  Patriarch."  The  Kaimakam  (lieutenant 
governor)  of  Mosul,  too,  after  his  return  from  a  conference  with 
Badir  Khan  Bey,  told  Dr.  Grant  that  the  visit  of  ^Mr.  Badger 
had  been  injurious,  for  that  very  reason.  Still,  even  this  could 
not  justify  the  report,  circulated  at  the  time,  that  Mr.  Badger 
was  the  cause  of  the  war ;  for  the  roots  of  that  extended  back 
much  further  ;  and  no  one  can  say  that,  even  had  he,  like  Dr. 
Grant,  persuaded  to  peace,  the  result  could  have  been  averted. 

About  this  time,  also,  the  Patriarch,  in  his  anxiety  to  propi- 
tiate the  Turks,  sent  a  force  from  Ashitha  against  Zeiner  Bey, 
—  another  false  move,  that  irritated  the  Kurds,  and  roused 
Zeiner  Bey  himself  to  a  terrible  revenge. 

During  this  winter,  Dr.  Grant  was  busy,  as  usual,  in  doing 
good  to  all  classes;  and  Mr.  L.,  after  his  recovery,  devoted  him- 
self to  the  acquisition  of  the  Syriac. 

March  24th,  Dr.  Grant  wrote  to  his  brother  Ira,  as  follows  : 

"  In  England  a  party  has  arisen,  in  the  Episcopal  church, 
who  are  striving  to  effect  universal  union,  by  going  back  to  the 
traditions  of  the  fathers.  They  have  sent  out  one  of  their  emis- 
saries to  counteract  our  eiforts,  and  prevent  our  '  sowing  discord ' 
by  undermining  the  outward  forms  of  these  Eastern  churches.  In 
their  estimation,  the  essence  of  all  union  is  in  a  regular  apostol- 
ical succession  of  the  clergy, —  that  is,  in  episcopacy, — and,  want- 
ing this,  we  poor  dissenters  are  out  of  the  way  of  salvation, 
while  the  Papists,  with  all  their  abominations,  are  acknowledged 
as  brethren  ! 

"  I  have  been  more  particularly  indisposed  of  late,  and 
have  written  this  upon  my  bed.  But  I  am  a  little  better,  and 
hope  to  be  able  to  set  out  for  the  mountains  in  a  very  few  days. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  287 

In  March  Dr.  Grunt  received  a  letter  from  Mar  Shimon, 
filled  with  oriental  protestations  of  undiminished  attachment,  and 
a  most  urgent  invitation  to  return  to  the  mountains. 

At  the  same  time,  the  emir  revealed  his  true  character  in 
sending  a  complaint  to  Erzrum  that  Dr.  Grant  was  building  a 
strong  fort  in  the  mountains ;  and  that  the  people  were  so  op- 
posed to  it,  they  rose  on  him  en  masse,  and  would  have  killed 
him,  had  not  he  (the  emir)  interfered  for  his  deliverance,  adding 
that  he  himself  would  have  expelled  him,  but  that,  as  the  moun- 
tains were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Erzrum,  he  preferred  to 
await  the  orders  of  his  superior.  This  glaring  falsehood,  fabri- 
cated after  his  repeated  invitations  to  Dr.  Grant  to  settle  any- 
where in  the  mountains,  and  his  written  permission  to  build  in 
Ashitha,  was  repeated  again  the  following  summer. 

By  such  a  show  of  zeal  for  the  government  he  hoped  to 
secure  its  zealous  cooperation  with  him  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
Nestorians ;  an  object  to  attain  which  he  hesitated  at  no  sacri- 
fice of  honor  or  of  principle.  He  may  have  hoped,  also,  to 
attach  Dr.  Grant  more  firmly  to  his  interests,  by  making  him  more 
entirely  dependent  on  his  protection.  However  that  might  be, 
Dr.  Grant  saw  in  all  this  no  cause  for  discourage. nent,  and 
went  on  with  preparations  for  his  fifth  annual  tour. 
24 


CHAPTER      XV. 

FIFTH   VISIT    TO     THE   MOUNTAINS MUD     VILLAGE KIIORSABAD    A^V     M. 

BOTl'A AIN    SIFNEH    AND     YEZIDEES HEROINE    OF    BASTAWA AVOMAN 

IN    MOSUL NATURAL     HISTORY AMADIA WHAT     POVERTY    AND     MIS- 
ERY   MEAN  —   PASS  OVER    MATINKH SNOW VALE     OF     BERWER ZAR- 

NE  MULE-RIDING      IN      THE     MOUNTAINS  PATRIARCHAL     MANSION  

DR.    grant's    CASTLE    AS    IT   AVAS NESTORIAN     FEAST A     NIGHT     VISIT 

FROM   KURDISH    SPIES A    NESTORIAN    STRIKE  HOW    TO    SUPPRESS  IT 

ANOTHER    NIGHT-ALARM SYMPATHY    WITH    THE     EGYPTIANS FEROCITY 

OF    THE    NESTORIANS APPROACH    OF    THE    STORM. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  Dr.  Grant,  having  now  traversed 
the  mountains  alone  for  four  successive  summers,  went  in  again, 
taking  with  him  his  new  associate.  The  pasha  had  provided  a 
kawass  to  counteract  the  effects  of  his  late  message  to  Nirwa  ; 
but  he  refused  to  accompany  us  farther  than  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris,  —  most  probably  according  to  orders,  as  he  had  no  horse, 
or  anything  that  looked  like  preparations  for  a  journey.  Dr. 
Grant  thought  it  a  good  riddance,  and  we  were  soon  on  board 
the  rude  boat  that  ferried  us  over  to  Assyria.  The  side  was  four 
feet  high,  and  our  mules  were  half  lifted,  half  forced  into  the 
mass  of  horses,  men  and  donkeys,  that  already  filled  the  boat. 
The  river,  when  highest,  is  sometimes  here  a  mile  in  breadth  ; 
but,  though  so  high  that  the  bridge  of  boats  lay  useless  along 
the  western  bank,  it  w  is  not  now  very  vvide,  and  we  w^ere  soon 
landei  in  the  mud  on  the  opposite  shore. 

Once  fairly  beyond  the  ancient  mounds  round  Khoyunjuk, 
we  proceeded,  in  a  northerly  direction,  to  the  right  of  the  Kho- 
sar,  across  the  plain  of  Assyria.     Fields  of  grain  waved   on 


DR.     CHANT     AND     THE     N  E  S  T  0  11  I  A  N  S  .  289 

all  sides.  Flowers  blossomed  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and 
gazelles  bounded  lightly  away  on  our  approach.  These  are 
hunted  only  when  the  ground  is  so  wet  that  their  hoofs  sink 
deeper  than  the  feet  of  the  greyhounds  that  are  kept  in  every 
village  for  the  purpose.  At  half-past  six  p.  m.  we  stopped  at 
Baibugh,  a  mud  village,  without  a  tree  in  sight  in  any  direction. 
Noisy  storks  held  possession  of  the  roofs ;  and  flocks  and  herds, 
just  home  from  the  pasture,  filled  the  court-yards.  Our  room 
was  made  of  mud  throughout,  with  the  exception  of  the  beams 
which  supported  the  earthen  roof,  and  a  door  that,  by  way 
of  economizing  lumber,  was  only  half  as  wide  above  as  below. 
The  very  candlestick  that  served  dimly  to  reveal  our  suj^per 
was  of  the  same  material. 

On  our  arrival,  the  villagers  had  insisted  that,  though  they 
had  plenty  of  eggs,  yet  they  had  no  hens ;  but,  through  the  per- 
severance of  Dawud,  one  made  its  appearance  with  the  eggs 
and  pilav.  The  latter  was  hot,  but  our  host  obligingly  fanned 
it  with  his  capacious  shirt-sleeve,  as  we  sat  together  round  the 
dish. 

Next  day,  April  5,  an  hour's  ride  brought  us  to  Khorsabad, 
where  we  spent  two  pleasant  hours  in  visiting  the  excavations  of 
M.  Botta,  now  so  well  known  that  they  need  not  be  de- 
scribed. The  mud-houses  of  the  village  contrasted  oddly  with 
the  royal  splendor  laid  open  below  them ;  and  an  Arab  churn  — 
a  goat-skin,  half  full  of  milk,  kept  extended  by  a  stick,  and  the 
whole  suspended,  from  a  pole  that  leaned  against  one  of  the 
huts  —  was  jerked  back  and  forth  by  a  particularly  sunburned 
dairy-maid,  in  the  very  face  of  heroes  and  demigods  of  olden  time. 

We  visited  Khorsabad  several  times  afterwards,  and  M. 
Botta  presented  an  ancient  Assyrian  seal  to  one  of  the  mission- 
aries. The  device,  which  is  here  inserted,  represents  a  priest 
standing  before  the  sacred  tree  ;  the  winged  symbol  of  the  deity 
over  him,  and  a  dagger  behind  him.     The  stone  is  chalcedony, 


290  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

and  a  hole  is  drilled  through  the  upper  part  for  the  insertion  of 

a  string,   as  seen   in  the    side 
view. 

The  excavations  of  M.  Botta 
may  be  too  well  known  to  need 
description;  but  his  amiable 
character  and  unaffected  kind- 
ness towards  those  of  another  faith  may  not  be  so  familiar.  That 
was  not  unappreciated  by  those  who  received  a  very  different 
treatment  from  an  English  missionary,  and  will  never  be  forgotten 
while  memory  lives.  The  writer  cannot  forbear  transcribing  a 
note  that  now  lies  before  him,  as  it  shows  how  a  French  consul, 
thouo-h  a  papist,  knew  how  to  unite  good-will  to  others  with  the 
performance  of  his  own  duties.  He  had  lent  his  large  copy  of 
Freytag's  Arabic  lexicon  to  one  of  the  missionaries,  and  this  is 
his  reply  to  a  note  of  thanks  when  it  was  returned  : 

"  My  Dear  Sir  :  I  cannot  say  that  I  thank  you  for  the 
return  of  the  lexicon,  because  I  am  sorry  that  you  do  not  want 
it  any  more,  and  I  lose  an  occasion  of  being  useful  to  you.  As 
for  asking  me  how  you  can  return  the  favor,  permit  me  to  say 
tliat  such  an  idea  ought  never  to  have  occurred  to  you.  I  have 
been  happy  in  being  able  to  help  you,  and  the  pleasure  I  had 
in  doing  so  is  more  than  I  want  for  my  remuneration." 

How  could  intercourse  with  such  a  man  be  otherwise  than 
pleasant? 

Leaving  Khorsabad,  we  passed  on  toward  Seidkhan,  where  a 
fountain  that  bubbles  up  at  the  foot  of  a  low  range  of  hills  turns 
four  mills  within  the  space  of  half  a  mile.  At  one  time  we  had 
no  less  than  twelve  ancient  mounds  in  sight  at  once.  These 
are  generally  close  by  a  spring  or  water-course;  and  where  neither 
exist,  those  who  live  near  them  sometimes  ask  the  passing  Frank 
to  point  ou"  the  well  they  believe  them  to  conceal. 


MOUNTAIN     N  ]']  S  T  0  II  I  A  N  S  .  291 

Crossing  the  low  range  that  runs  north-west  from  Jebel  Mak- 
lub,  we  continued  over  a  high  undulating  surface,  that  com- 
manded a  delightful  view.  On  our  right  rose  the  summit  ju.st 
mentioned.  More  to  the  east,  the  snowy  peaks,  above  Ravan- 
dooz,  glittered  in  the  distance.  Directly  in  front  lay  the  plain 
of  Yezid  Khan,  with  here  and  there  a  village  nestling  at  the  foot 
of  an  ancient  mound.  On  its  opposite  margin  rose  the  fluted 
cones  of  Ain  Sifneh,  our  resting-place  for  the  night.  Just  be- 
yond, the  dark  rocky  slope  of  the  outer  barrier  of  Kurdistan 
swept  round  from  Akra  on  the  east  to  Elkosh  on  the  west. 
Here  and  there  the  pinnacles  of  the  Gara  peeped  over  that,  tell- 
ing of  more  rugged  scenes  beyond.  Descending  from  this 
eminence,  we  crossed  the  plain  in  the  midst  of  a  thunder-shower, 
nOar  the  water-shed,  between  the  Tigris  and  the  Zab,  and  were 
,oon  safely  quartered  for  the  night. 

Ain  Sifneh  (Fountain  of  the  Ship)  is  so  called,  they  say, 
because  here  Noah  built  his  ark.  If  so,  trees  must  have  been 
more  numerous  in  those  days ;  for  now,  besides  a  few  fruit-trees 
in  the  village,  none  were  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  It  con- 
tains nearly  one  hundred  houses,  mostly  Yezidees,  with  a  few 
Kurds,  and  four  or  five  families  of  Jews.  Some  poor  people 
from  Jelu  had  spent  the  winter  here.  But  everything  betok- 
ened poverty.  The  marks  of  oppression  and  insecurity  were 
visible  on  all  sides.  Yet  a  kid,  sporting  amid  the  withered 
grass  on  one  of  the  roofs,  reminded  us  that  while  the  wicked  arc 
like  the  grass  upon  the  house-top,  that  withereth  afore  it  grow- 
eth  up,  yet,  after  they  shall  have  passed  away,  cometh  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  that  shall  never  end. 

Dr.  Grant,  who  was  too  hoarse  at  night  to  speak,  found  the 
cutaneous  irritation  of  swarms  of  nocturnal  visitors  as  effectual 
as  a  regular  prescription.  But  his  companion,  who  had  been 
kept  awake  by  them  the  night  before,  and  flired  no  better  now, 
did  not  find  the  treatment  so  beneficial. 

As  we  rode  ofi"  at  sunrise,  we  saw  some  of  the  Yezidees  kissing 
24* 


292  DR.     f;  K  A  N  T     AND     THE 

the  walls  of  one  of  their  temples,  as  they  caught  the  earliest  rays 
of  the  sun.  We  had  a  fine  view  of  the  plain  of  Navkur,  on  our 
right,  directly  between  us  and  the  sun  ;  but  soon  entered  a  narrow 
defile,  that  shut  out  all  other  sights.  High  in  the  rocky  wall,  on 
our  left,  was  the  old  cave  of  a  hermit,  whence  you  might  trace 
the  stream  up  and  down  the  ravine,  by  the  oleanders  in  full 
bloom  upon  its  banks.  The  willow,  the  hawthorn,  and  other 
flowering  shrubs,  added  variety  to  the  view.  There,  on  the  west, 
is  the  glen  of  Sheikh  Adi,  the  holy  place  of  the  Yezidees.  The 
fluted  cones  of  the  temple  shoot  up  among  the  trees,  like  the  top 
of  a  New  England  spire.  The  sides  of  the  glen  seem  to  close 
together  above  it,  dotted  with  the  buildings  occupied  by  that 
singular  people  when  they  come  here  to  their  annual  feasts.  At 
this  place  the  missionaries  spent  a  week,  during  the  hottest  of 
the  summer  of  1844.^ 

Keeping  up  the  main  ravine,  we  passed  over  into  the  valley 
of  the  Gomel,  and  continued  up  the  stream  for  several  miles, 
west  of  north.  Here  we  passed  field  after  field,  and  village 
after  village,  totally  desolate.  The  soil  was  fertile,  the  cli- 
mate delightful,  but  war  and  oppression  had  emptied  the  land 
of  its  inhabitants.  Then  bearing  more  to  the  east,  we  came  to 
Bastawa,  the  village  of  the  chief  of  Mezury,  equally  desolate. 
His  wife  was  here,  with  a  few  attendants,  securing  their  rice. 
Her  appearance  at  once  commanded  attention.  The  tassels  of  a 
silk  shawl  hung  gracefully  round  the  lower  part  of  her  turban. 
A  green  silk  jacket,  lined  with  fur,  but  now  much  the  worse  for 
wear,  covered  a  dre.ss  of  coarse  blue  cotton,  suggesting  a  sad 
contrast  between  former  wealth  and  present  poverty.  Her 
features,  once  beautiful,  now  revealed  a  spirit  roused,  rather 
than  broken,  by  misfortune.     When   Dr.  Grant  asked  lodgings 

*  For  a  further  description  of  it  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  excel- 
lent work  of  Mr.  Layard,  vol.  i.  225  ;  and  his  more  recent  *'  Babylon  and 
Nineveh,"  81—94;  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1848,  p.  148,  and  Missionary 
Herald,  1863,  p.  110. 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  III  A  N  S  .  293 

for  the  night,  she  raised  her  form  to  its  full  height,  threw  back 
her  braided  hair,  and,  pointing  to  the  roofless  houses  and  ruined 
castle,  to  her  own  rags,  and  those  of  her  attendants,  —  "  See 
there  I  "  said  she.  "  You  have  stripped  us  of  all !  You  have 
driven  us  forth  beggars  in  the  land ;  and  now,  do  you  ask  for 
hospitality  ?  We  have  nothing  for  you.  Go  to  them  with  whom 
you  have  still  left  something,  and  may  Grod  be  judge  between 
us  !  "  This  is  but  an  outline  of  an  impassioned  address  in  her 
native  Kurdish,  imperfectly  translated  by  our  servant.  Gesture, 
position,  look  and  tone,  could  not  have  been  improved  by  the 
schools;  and  yet  there  was  no  extravagance.  Her  proud  spirit 
scorned  to  yield  to  the  violence  of  passion.  All  was  said  with 
a  dignity  of  sorrow  that  affected  us  even  more  than  her  words ; 
and  we  were  heartily  ashamed  of  our  Turkish  costume,  that  had 
led  her  to  mistake  us  for  her  oppressors.  When  she  learned 
who  we  were,  she  at  once  offered  to  share  with  us  what  she  had  ; 
but  there  was  nothing  for  our  horses,  and  we  were  compelled  to 
go  on,  two  hours  further,  to  the  Nestorian  village  of  Bebozy. 
As  we  passed  along  the  steep  side  of  the  narrow  glen,  we  could 
speak  of  nothing  but  the  heroine  of  Bastawa.  When  will  this 
energy  of  character  in  these  mountains  be  consecrated  to  Christ, 
and  employed  in  doing  good  ? 

We  could  not  but  notice  the  contrast  between  her  and  ladios 
of  her  rank  in  Mosul.  Some  of  them  occupied  palaces,  the 
marble  pavement  of  whose  courts  was  diversified  by  parterres  of 
flowers  or  fragrant  orange-trees.  In  the  lofty  rooms,  the  gilded 
stucco  of  the  roof  looked  down  on  Persian  carpets,  and  divans 
of  brilliant-colored  satin.  Numberless  mirrors,  plain,  or  made 
up  of  small  pieces  disposed  in  a  variety  of  shapes,  multiplied 
many  times  the  exquisite  arabesque  that  covered  the  walls 
Large  lines  of  Arabic,  with  its  graceful  curves  and  intricate 
combinations,  painted  on  the  plaster  in  vivid  colors,  extended 
round  the  apartments.  But,  when  one  of  the  missionaries  called, 
he  was  always  left  outside  the  door  till  the  house  was  cleared. 


294  DR.      GRANT     xV  N  D     THE 

Then,  in  sueli  a  room,  coffee  was  served  in  cups  with  silver 
holders,  and  30stly  sherbets  and  perfumes  welcomed  the  visitor. 
But,  with  the  exception  of  the  host  and  his  attendants,  not  a 
f,oul  was  to  be  seen  ;  and  it  would  have  been  deemed  gross 
impoliteness  had  the  guest  made  the  slightest  allusion  to  the 
fiimily.  Thus  secluded  in  the  house,  in  the  street  the  woman 
must  follow  her  husband  at  a  respectful  distance  ;  and,  should  a 
Frank  lady  publicly  take  the  arm  of  her  husband,  she  would  do  it 
at  the  peril  of  being  mobbed.  On  the  road  the  fellah  is  sure  to 
be  riding  his  donkey,  and  smoking  at  his  leisure,  while  his  poor 
wife  trudges  on  foot,  if  not  bending  under  a  burden  besides. 

Dr.  Grant  and  his  associate  were  one  day  busily  writing  for 
the  post,  when  the  wife  of  a  respectable  Mohammedan  merchant 
brought  in  her  only  child  for  medicine.  They  lived  close  by ; 
and,  as  she  came  frequently,  she  ventured  in  unattended.  Her 
appearance  was  unusually  prepossessing.  She  could  not  have 
been  over  thirty  years  of  age,  and  her  little  boy  was  not  far 
from  ten.  Dr.  Grant  was  so  busy  he  did  not,  at  first,  attend  to 
her  ;  and,  leading  forward  the  invalid,  she  began  to  plead  for 
him  with  tears,  saying,  among  other  things,  "  He  is  all  I  have 
in  the  world."  —  "  What !  "  said  the  doctor,  "  have  you  forgot 
your  husband  ?  "  —  "  Husband  !  "  she  repeated.  "  Can  a  hus- 
band love  ?  He  is  a  stranger  to  me,  and  I  to  him.  Ah  !  the 
relio-ion  of  Jesus  is  better  than  Islam;  it  docs  not  tolerate 
such  things  as  ours."  The  truth  was,  he  had  married  others 
since  her,  and  she  was  cast  aside ;  while  the  attention  —  let  us 
not  call  it  love  —  once  lavished  on  her  was  now  transferred  to 
her  younger  rivals ;  and  these  did  all  they  could  to  embitter  an 
existence  already  almost  insupportable.  She  was  retained  only 
for  the  sake  of  her  son ;  and  on  him  now  centred  all  her  love. 
But  even  he  had  been  trained  to  despise  her ;  and,  all  the  while 
she  was  pleading  in  his  behalf,  with  a  mother's  earnestness,  he 
was  mocking,  insulting,  and,  with  a  domineering  air,  ordering 
her  to  be  silent. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  295 

After  the  doctor  had  attended  to  him,  she  began  to  tell  her 
own  ailments;  but  he  could  only  reply  to  her  account  of  them, 
"  I  have  no  medicine  for  a  broken  heart." 

Christian  mother  !  how  many  such  hearts,  as  tender  and  sen- 
sitive as  yours,  are  breaking  !  How  many  doomed  to  drag  out 
life  in  misery  like  this,  and  then  die  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
Saviour  !  How  much  would  you  take  in  exchange  for  your 
knowledge  of  Christ  ?  And  what  are  you  doing  to  make  him 
known  to  such  as  these  ? 

Leaving  the  Kurdish  vilhige  of  Kalanowa  in  the  valley,  we 
climbed  on  foot  to  Bebozy,  where,  for  the  first  time,  we  saw  oaks 
and  evergreens  on  the  eminences  around.  An  Armenian  friend 
of  Dr.  Grant  made  us  his  guests;  and  an  excellent  supper  of 
bread,  olives,  honey,  dibs  (grape  molasses),  and  the  flesh  of  a 
wild  boar,  followed  by  a  dessert  of  pomegranates,  was  very 
acceptable.  The  village  abounds  in  fruit.  Grapes,  cherries, 
pears,  peaches,  plums,  figs  and  almonds,  grow  here,  besides 
olives  and  pomegranates.  Citrons  and  limes  thrive  in  some  of 
the  warmer  valleys.  Most  of  the  fruit  used  in  Mosul  is  carried 
from  these  mountains;  and  the  gall-nut  of  commerce  is  one  of 
the  staple  exports  of  the  province.  The  wild  boar  is  very 
troublesome,  —  rooting  up  the  fields  and  destroying  the  crops 
The  bear  and  wolf  are  less  common.  An  animal  like  the  leopard 
but  smaller,  is  sometimes  found.  Foxes  are  plenty.  The  martin 
is  more  rare ;  and  the  otter  is  caught,  occasionally,  along  the 
waters  of  the  Zab. 

The  Nestorians  of  this  and  a  neighboring  village  had  turned 
papists  within  a  fortnight  of  our  visit.  The  Bishop  of  Elkosh 
had  told  them  all  the  world  had  turned,  and  threatened  to  curse 
them  if  they  did  not  turn  too.  They  had  no  priest,  no  teacher ; 
and,  said  they,  "We  were  sheep  without  a  shepherd;  —  what 
could  we  do?"  On  the  walls  of  the  church  were  some  paltry 
prints,  of  whish  they  seemed  ashamed,  but  did  not  dare  to  take 
them  down.     The  churo  i  was  well   supplied  with   MSS. ;   but 


296  DTv.     GRANT     AND     THE 

they  seemed  rather  a  memento  of  the  former  prosperity  of  the 
village  than  appropriate  to  its  reduced  population  of  thirty 
houses. 

Next  day  we  passed  over  the  mountains  to  Hordepni,  a  small 
Nestor ian  village,  where  is  a  chamber  hollowed  out  of  an  iso- 
lated rock,  called  the  Tomb  of  Nooskee ;  but  who  he  was  we 
could  not  ascertain.  Beyond  this  our  road  was  the  same  that 
Dr.  Grant  passed  over  in  1839,  into  the  Sapnah.  Tura  Gara, 
still  covered  with  snow,  stretched  away  on  our  right,  south-east 
by  east,  to  the  Zab.  To  the  west  it  is  more  broken,  and,  under 
various  names,  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  valley,  as 
Tura  Matineh  is  the  northern. 

The  valley  is  about  two  miles  wide  at  this  point,  and  twice 
that  width  at  Dawudia.  There  is  no  marked  elevation  between 
the  streams  that  run  into  the  Habor  and  the  Zab.  They  break 
down  abruptly  through  the  coarse  sandstone  at  the  very  outset, 
and  intersect  the  whole  valley  with  deep  ravines,  for  the  most 
part  impassable. 

We  spent  the  night  at  the  Kurdish  village  of  Baderesky, 
whose  fields,  fenced  with  thorn-bushes,  presented  a  formidable 
barrier  both  to  man  and  beast.  Contrary  to  the  usual  custom, 
our  host  was  not  only  very  obliging  on  our  arrival,  but  continued 
so,  even  after  we  had  given  him  his  bachshish  in  the  morning. 

A  ride  of  four  hours  —  April  8  —  brought  us  to  Amadia, 
thi'ough  the  ruins  of  the  Turkish  camp.  The  town  rose  almost 
directly  above  our  heads.  Stopping  every  few  moments  to 
breathe,  we  had  leisure,  during  the  ascent,  to  note  the  precipice, 
from  twenty  to  forty  feet  high,  that  crowned  the  slope.  A 
stair-like  road  led  from  the  fountain  outside  the  gate  to  the 
platform  above.  Here  and  there  were  marks  of  cannon-balls, 
and  mines  exploded  by  the  Turks.  The  town  is  so  strongly 
situated  by  nature,  that,  during  a  five  months'  siege,  some  thou- 
sands of  balls,  fired  by  the  besiegers,  killed  only  eleven  men ; 
and  famine,  rather  than  force,  compelled  a   surrender.     They 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  297 

tried,  but  in  vain,  to  poison  the  wells,  eight  of  which  are  exca- 
vated in  the  rock,  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  depth.  The  town  looked  ruined  and  wretched.  Fifteen 
years  ago  it  numbered  two  thousand  houses ;  now  there  are  little 
more  than  two  hundred.  First  the  plague  swept  away  eighteen 
hundred  of  the  citizens ;  three  years  after,  the  noted  Kur  Bey 
sacked  the  place ;  two  years  later,  Reschid  Pasha  recovered  pos- 
session, inflicting  new  injuries.  Then  Ismael  Pasha,  four  years 
after,  revolted,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  Akra,  in  1839.  In 
1842  he  regained  possession  of  the  place,  to  be  again  driven  out 
by  the  siege  just  mentioned.  At  this  time  there  were  about 
forty  houses  of  Jews,  twenty  of  Christians,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  of  Kiirds.  Only  two  Armenian  families  remained,  out  of 
thirty.  One  of  this  people^  though  an  employe  of  the  govern- 
ment, showed  us  the  wounds  made  by  the  fetters  he  wore  in  prison, 
till  three  thousand  piastres  were  extorted  from  him.  A  boy  had 
lately  been  compelled  to  turn  Moslem  by  the  daily  torture  of  the 
lash.  Several  Nestorians  were  driven  off,  in  our  presence,  to 
work  for  the  soldiers,  amid  blows  and  abuse.  The  priest,  and 
even  the  women,  are,  in  the  same  manner,  driven  to  the  most 
menial  services,  and  made  to  carry  wood  like  beasts  of  burden. 
One  man  applied  for  medicine  for  his  eye,  blinded  by  a  blow 
from  a  soldier. 

Making  our  way  through  a  crowd  of  insolent  soldiers,  who 
seemed  to  long  to  treat  us  like  the  rest,  we  found  the  floor 
of  the  best  room  in  the  castle  coated  with  mud ;  the  divan  was 
old,  coarse  and  ragged,  and,  with  a  dozen  guns,  swords  and 
pistols,  composed  the  only  furniture  of  the  apartment.  Passing 
through  ruined  halls,  once  adorned  with  stucco,  we  found  the 
governor  in  a  rough  kiosk,  built  of  boards.  But  the  beautiful 
view  from  the  window  relieved  for  a  moment  our  sad  impressions. 
The  whole  valley  of  the  Sapnah  lay  spread  out  before  us  as 
far  as  the  Zab.  Beyond  its  silver  thread,  the  peaks  of  Ravan- 
dooz  towered  high,  in  their  robes  of  glittering  white.     The  gov- 


298  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

ernor  had  profited  by  the  temperance  lecture  in  Akra,  in  1839 
but  has  little  encouragement  to  do  good,  as  he  is  liable  to  be 
displaced  whenever  he  fails  to  extort  enough  from  the  ruins  to 
satisfy  his  superior  at  Mosul.  His  seven  hundred  soldiers  force 
the  inhabitants  to  labor  for  them  for  days,  without  giving  even 
a  morsel  to  support  them  the  while. 

We  remained  here  from  Saturday  till  Tuesday,  as  Monday 
was  so  rainy  we  could  not  leave.  But  it  did  not  detain  us,  in 
the  end ;  for  the  rain  opened  the  roads,  till  now  impassable 
from  the  snow.  On  Sabbath  one  asked  how  he  should  know 
which  was  right.  Here  were  the  Nestorians,  the  Chaldeans,  and 
the  English,  all  following  the  same  Bible,  and  all  different. 
Dr.  Grant :  "  We  want  to  teach  you  to  read  the  Bible,  and 
judge  for  yourselves."  —  "  But,"  says  he,  "  the  readers  disagree, 
as  well  as  we."  Dr.  Grant :  "  However  they  may  differ  about 
some  things,  others  are  very  plain  ;  as,  '  Except  ye  repent,  ye 
shall  all  likewise  perish  ; '  '  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see 
the  Lord,'  and  the  like."  The  .man  then  turned  to  a  Chaldean 
priest  who  was  present,  and  demanded  why  he  had  never  told 
them  this.  "  Is  it  so  written  in  the  Bible  ?  "  —  "  Yes,"  was  the 
reply.  "  Then  why  do  you  speak  against  these  men,  who  do  not 
slander  you,  and  teach  us  what  is  in  the  Bible  ?  "  Such  topics 
as  confession,  and  the  relative  importance  of  fasting  and  repent- 
ance, were  then  discussed  at  length,  with  much  interest.  It 
cheered  us  to  find  many  scriptural  sentiments  advanced  in  a 
place  so  dark,  and  we  could  not  but  rejoice  in  the  good  fruit 
that  would  yet  abound  here  also  to  the  glory  of  God. 

The  town  has  one  mosque,  —  whose  tall  minaret  is  the  most 
beautiful  and  prominent  object  in  the  view,  —  an  Armenian 
church,  and  two  synagogues.  The  Nestorians  worship  in  a  room 
in  the  house  of  Kasha  Mendo. 

On  Monday  a  Babbi  took  us  to  visit  the  synagogues.  In  the 
outer  court  of  one  a  few  flowers  occupied  the  only  place  reached 
by  the  sun.     Here  we  found  some  masses  of  leaves,  wet,  and 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  299 

covered  with  mould,  —  we  could  not  call  them  books.  They  were 
volumes  of  the  Talmud,  laid  out  to  dry.  Inside  the  synao-oo-ue 
the  rough  posts  that  sustained  the  roof  were  rotten.  The  rain 
dripped  freely  from  above  into  deep  holes  worn  in  the  soft  clay 
floor.  We  could  scarce  find  a  place  fit  to  stand  on,  and  the 
damp,  close  air  was  perfectly  intolerable.  We  hardly  dared  stay 
long  enough  to  look  round  ;  and  still  here  was  a  place  of  worship 
for  many  of  this  miserable  people  !  More  than  forty  rolls  of  most 
beautiful  Hebrew  manuscripts  were  here  going  to  decay  ;  yet 
money  could  not  induce  them  to  sell  one  of  them.  The  same 
description  may  answer  for  both  synagogues,  even  to  the  number 
of  manuscripts  sent  from  the  villages  around  for  safe-keeping. 
When  will  they  cleave  as  closely  to  Christ  as  to  these  copies  of 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  that  speak  concerning  him  ? 

Dr.  Grant  next  went  to  the  house  of  a  patient ;  and,  on  leaving 
the  ruinous  abode,  we  were  surprised  to  learn  it  was  the  house 
of  one  of  the  magnates  of  the  place.  If  the  homes  of  the  rich 
are  so  comfortless,  what,  thought  we,  must  be  the  dwellings  of 
the  poor  ?  We  were  not  long  in  suspense,  for  we  entered  some 
of  them.  But  how  can  we  describe  them  ?  Without  windows 
and  without  doors,  —  unless  a  hole  in  the  wall,  half  choked  with 
rubbish,  be  called  such.  From  this  you  descend  into  the  inte- 
rior, as  into  a  dungeon.  In  the  darkness  you  can  scarce  discern 
their  utter  emptiness.  A  cradle  and  an  earthen  pot  comprised  the 
whole  furniture  of  one  ;  two  earthen  pots  and  a  pile  of  rags  that 
of  another.  The  dresses  of  the  inmates  hardly  served  the  pur- 
poses of  common  decency ;  and  how  they  were  protected  from 
the  cold  we  could  not  imagine.  In  some  places  night  brings 
relief  to  the  miserable.  But  in  many  of  these  houses  there  was 
not  a  rag  to  keep  them  from  the  damp  earth,  or  cover  them 
from  the  cold.  Who  would  not  deny  himself,  that  such  suffer- 
ers might  know  of  the  grace  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ  ?  We  were 
not  surprised  to  hear  that  many  had  died  of  hunger,  and  others 
—  a  thing  very  uncommon  in  western  Asia  —  had  put  an  end  to 
25 


300  DR.     U  R  A  N  f     A  N  D     T  II  E 

their  existence  with  their  own  hands.  One  of  the  Jews  had  first 
killed  his  wife  and  then  himself,  to  get  rid  of  the  misery  he 
could  endure  no  longer. 

The  priest's  brother,  by  whom  we  were  entertained,  —  Kasha 
Mendo  was  from  home,  —  was  so  poor  that  we  had  to  buy  our 
candles  and  provisions,  such  as  w^e  could  get,  in  the  wretched 
bazaar. 

The  tradition  that  this  place  was  founded  by  a  woman  seems 
to  point  to  Semiramis  ;  and  its  strong  position  favors  Major 
Rawlinson's  idea,  that  it  is  the  Ecbatana,  or  treasure  city,  of  the 
Assyrian  kings. 

As  the  road  was  unsafe,  the  Mutsellim  sent  five  armed  Kurds 
to  escort  us  through  Berwer,  and  we  took  three  or  four  Nesto- 
rians  to  carry  our  loads  over  the  snow.  Descending  from  the 
eastern  gate,  we  crossed  the  valley,  and  entered  the  pass  of 
Geli  Mazukah.  Dr.  Grant,  in  former  journeys,  had  tried 
another,  a  little  to  the  east,  the  bolder  of  the  two,  as  this  was  the 
more  beautiful.  Ancient  terraces,  moss-grown  and  covered  with 
ivy,  ran  along  the  rock  above  us.  The  torrent  leaped  from 
ledge  to  ledge,  in  white  sheets  of  foam ;  now  wetting  with  spray 
the  vines  that  covered  its  banks ;  anon  plunging,  with  hoarse 
reverberation,  into  some  hidden  pool,  deep  down  among  the 
rocks.  High  over  our  heads  the  road  crossed  the  stream  by  a 
stone  bridge,  of  one  arch  ;  and  on  a  conspicuous  point  of  the  op- 
posite cliff  the  ruins  of  a  mill  made  the  scene  yet  more  pictur- 
esque. Above  this  the  glen  enlarged  into  a  little  terraced 
interval;  then  contracted  again,  so  rough  and  wild  we  had  to 
unload  the  mules ;  and,  after  crossing  and  recrossing,  scrambling 
and  climbing,  we  were  glad  to  rest  at  the  top  amid  the  snow. 
This  extended  far  down  the  descent  before  us.  The  range,  this 
side  of  Tyary,  presented  an  unbroken  surface  of  white,  and  the 
road  to  Ashitha  was  not  open  for  some  weeks  later.  In  the 
descent  we  fared  tolerably  well,  with  our  broad-soled  Turkish 
boots ;  but  the  mules  floundered  through  with  difl&culty,  even 


NESTORIA^\S    FK03I    JELO. 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N      N  E  S  T  0  R  T  A  N  S  .  303 

without  their  loads,  to  an  upland  valley,  covered  with  the  beau- 
tiful crocus,  which  was  the  zozan  of  Amadia. 

Below  this,  we  sunk,  boots  and  all,  through  the  soft  snow ; 
and  the  mules  had  to  be  helped  by  the  Nestorians  through  drifts 
up  to  their  saddles.  But  these  troubles  were  soon  forgotten,  in 
a  lovely  vale,  about  a  mile  in  diameter,  with  a  river  murmuring 
pleasantly  through  fields  of  grain,  and  tall  poplar-trees  standing 
like  guardians  around  the  whole. 

The  village  of  Terwanish,  ^ix  hours  from  Amadia,  —  perhaps 
the  place  Dr.  Grrant  had  to  pass  so  silently  at  midnight,  the 
year  before,  —  occupied  the  summit  of  an  eminence  beyond,  and 
presented  a  solid  stone  wall  on  the  only  side  that  was  accessible. 
As  we  approached  we  could  see  men  on  the  roofs  scrutinizing  our 
little  company,  and  prepared  to  welcome  or  repel  us,  as  circum- 
stances might  require.  Here  we  procured  some  refreshment, 
which  we  ate  in  the  road,  as  they  would  not  trust  us  inside  the 
village  barricade  ;  and,  sending  back  our  Nestorians,  commenced 
the  ascent  of  the  mountain  before  us.  Two  hours  brought  us 
to  Deshtany,  a  wretched  village  of  half-naked  and  half-fam- 
ished women  and  children,  where  no  one  would  take  us  in.  But 
their  filth  and  vermin  reconciled  us  to  our  fate  ;  and  we  gladly 
followed  some  Nestorians  to  Zarne,  where  we  spent  the  night. 
On  the  mountain  we  met  many  of  the  Nestorians  going  to  pas- 
ture their  flocks  on  its  southern  slopes.  The  women  carried 
their  full  share  of  baggage  strapped  to  their  backs  (see  plate). 
The  men  were  well  armed,  and  kept  a  sharp  look-out  for  ene- 
mies. Zarne  lay  out  of  our  way,  but  we  were  well  paid  for  our 
visit.  The  people  listened  eagerly  to  religious  instruction,  and 
vvere  diligent  in  improving  this  second  visit  of  a  physician  to 
their  secluded  home.  The  castles  of  this  border-village  are 
strongly  built  of  stone  and  lime.  They  are  full  of  loop-holes, 
instead  of  windows ;  and  the  door,  high  up  in  the  wall,  is 
reached  by  a  ladder,  that  is  drawn  up  after  the  villagers  are 
safe  within.     Altogether,  they  looked  so  threatening  that,   in 


304  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

case  of  a  skirmish,  we  would  much  prefer  to  be  inside,  rather 
than  among  the  assailants. 

The  aged  priest  of  the  village,  with  his  silvery  beard,  though 
quite  vain  of  his  learning,  seemed  bent  on  increasing  his  stock 
of  information,  with  Yankee  pertinacity. 

Next  day,  we  passed  over  the  extremity  of  the  range,  by  a 
road  so  rocky  and  steep  that  it  would  have  been  as  impossible 
for  us  to  stay  on  our  mules  as  for  them  to  carry  us.  Dr.  Grant, 
as  usual,  was  worn  out  with  the  walk ;  and  was  glad  to  remount 
some  miles  below  Lezan,  where  the  river  squeezes  through  be- 
tween mountains  that  barely  open  wide  enough  to  admit  its 
passage.  Where  not  too  steep  for  any  vegetation,  they  are  cov- 
ered with  forests  of  the  Quercus  Valonia,  that  produces  the  gall- 
nut  of  commerce.  Impressions  of  fern  were  frequent  and  varied 
on  the  schistose  rocks  ;  and  the  black-walnut  tree,  whose  fruit  is 
valued  both  for  food  and  for  the  oil  they  press  from  it,  was  quite 
common  near  the  river.  The  oil  is  burned  chiefly  in  the 
churches,  where  animal  fat  is  not  allowed.  As  we  drew  near 
Lezan,  beautiful  green  terraces  were  snugly  fitted  into  the  bot- 
toms of  the  ravines,  and  houses  surrounded  by  poplar  and  pear- 
trees  dotted  both  banks  of  the  river.  Every  available  nook  and 
corner  was  cultivated,  and  presented  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
desolation  above.  It  was  Industry  sitting  amid  trophies  already 
won,  and  meditating  new  triumphs.  Soon  Lezan  appeared,  in 
an  uneven  valley  on  the  left,  about  half  a  mile  in  width,  and 
extending  back  a  much  greater  distance.  Terrace  rose  above 
terrace  from  the  water's  edge,  as  long  as  water  could  be  brought 
to  them,  by  any  means,  from  the  mountains  above.  The  village 
contains  probably  about  two  hundred  houses.  We  were  kindly 
received  by  Kasha  Kena,  whose  hearty  welcome  made  us 
quickly  feel  at  he  me.  Man-^  of  the  villagers  flocked  to  meet  us, 
and  we  were  soon  quietly  settled  in  Dr.  Grant's  winter  quarters. 
An  American  stove  and  a  mattress  stuffed  with  wool  were  lux- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  305 

uries  especially  grateful.  Indeed,  everything  presented  a  pleas- 
ant contrast  to  the  sad  recollections  of  Amadia  and  Deshtany. 

As  Mar  Shimon  was  anxious  to  see  us  soon,  we  went  next 
morning  to  Ashitha.  The  torrent  was  too  deep  to  ford  ;  and, 
even  had  we  crossed  it,  the  usual  road  was  impassable  from  the 
snow.  We  were  therefore  obliged  to  climb  the  steep  face  of  the 
mountains  by  a  by-path,  pronounced  impracticable  for  mules, 
though  Dr.  Grant,  who  was  too  weak  to  walk,  retained  his  from 
necessity.  His  companion  would  trust  his  neck  to  no  feet  but 
his  own.  So,  with  shalwar  tied  up  about  his  knees,  and  hair 
sandals  on  his  feet,  he  trudged  on  one  weary  mile  after  another, 
to  the  end.  Sometimes,  as  he  sat  down  to  rest,  he  was  recon- 
ciled to  fatigue,  when,  looking  back,  he  saw  the  hind  feet  of  the 
doctor's  mule  sprawling  below  the  path,  and  kicking  the  loose 
stones  down  into  the  valley ;  one  Nestorian  holding  on  by  the 
bridle,  and  another  aiding  the  rider  to  dismount,  till  all  fairly 
in  the  path  again,  the  doctor  remounted  till  the  same  process  had 
to  be  repeated.  This  was  bad,  but  a  week's  illness  with  the 
ague,  which  paid  the  pedestrian  for  his  over-exertion,  was  cer- 
tainly no  better. 

The  first  house  we  entered  was  the  Kalleita,  near  the  church, 
which  Dr.  Grant  had  formerly  made  his  home.  We  stopped 
outside  till  we  were  announced,  and  were  much  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  make  of  a  stack  of  straw  just  inside  the  door.  As 
it  did  not  hinder  the  free  entrance  and  exit  of  others,  we  ven- 
tured in  also,  in  our  turn,  and  found  a  small  passage  by  one  side 
of  it  into  the  apartment.  It  had  been  erected  to  break  the 
force  of  the  wintry  winds,  and,  when  warm  weather  returned, 
was  taken  away.  This  passed,  as  near  as  we  could  discern, 
through  the  smoke,  a  row  of  men,  seated  on  the  earthen  floor, 
extended  more  than  half  round  the  room.  Mar  Shimon  occu- 
pied a  silk  cushion  in  one  corner,  with  his  bed  and  sundry 
articles  piled  up  behind  him.  We  approached  and  saluted  him, 
and  were  soon  seated  on  a  felt  by  his  side,  where  we  could  sur- 
25^ 


306  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

vey  the  assembly,  as  our  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  smoke 
and  darkness.  Each  one  had  his  pipe,  and  seemed  quite  at 
home,  —  going  out,  coming  in,  and  chatting  as  familiarly  as  he 
chose.  Mar  Shimon  welcomed  Dr.  Grant  as  usual,  and  his  com- 
panion had  no  occasion  to  complain  of  any  want  of  attention. 
Still,  it  was  evident  that  the  Patriarch  was  quite  willing  to  reap 
what  advantage  he  could  from  two  rival  missions.  The  reports 
of  the  doctor's  castle-building  had  given  place  to  others  yet 
more  extravagant.  Before  our  arrival,  it  was  currently  report- 
ed that  the  Pasha  of  Mosul  had  imprisoned  him  and  cut  off  his 
hands;  and,  again,  that  the  same  pasha  had  employed  him  to 
do  all  he  had  done  in  Tyary.  This  last  led  a  Kurdish  chief  to 
make  the  neighborly  request  that  the  Nestorians  should  kill  him 
as  soon  as  he  arrived.  It  was  on  account.of  such  reports  that 
the  Patriarch  had  ordered  a  large  company  of  Nestorians  to 
meet  us  beyond  their  frontiers ;  but  our  unexpected  arrival  pre- 
vented the  intended  kindness. 

But,  to  return  to  the  Patriarch's  apartment.  A  confused 
pile  of  wood,  kettles  and  earthen  pots,  dimly  appeared  behind  the 
stack  of  straw  at  the  door.  A  fire  burned  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  and  the  smoke,  instead  of  going  out  of  doors,  was  busy 
adding  to  the  polish  of  the  roof,  that  already  shone  like  jet 
from  the  smoke  of  years. 

If  our  own  quarters,  to  which  we  removed  in  •  a  day  or  two, 
were  inferior,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  we  did  not  aspire  to 
patriarchal  splendor ;  and,  for  the  edification  of  the  curious,  we 
will  here  describe  them.  We  occupied  one  room  in  common, 
whose  walls  were  built  of  stone,  laid  up  in  mud.  This  last  was 
left  squeezing  out  between  them,  like  plaster  on  the  inside  of 
laths.  The  earthen  floor  was  almost  as  smooth  as  a  muddy  road 
after  a  hard  frost.  In  the  middle  of  this  was  a  heap  of  earth, 
shaped  like  a  tray,  where  we  built  our  fire.  Here  all  the  cook- 
ing was  done,  within  some  five  feet  of  our  beds.  These,  which 
served  also  for  seats  by  day,  consisted,  first,  of  a  layer  of  millet- 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  807 

straw,  to  mitigate  the  roughness  of  the  floor,  extending  a  little 
beyond  our  mattresses,  so  as  to  keep  us  out  of  the  dirt.  These 
last  were  home-made,  and  stuffed  with  mountain  wool.  A  quilt 
apiece  and  our  Turkish  cloaks  made  all  cosey  at  night,  and  our 
saddle-bags  answered  very  well  for  pillows.  We  wrote  with  our 
portfolios  on  our  knees,  our  ink-bottles  in  our  hands,  and  various 
little  articles  deposited,  for  want  of  shelves,  on  the  projecting 
stones  of  the  wall  behind  us.  Our  wood  was  piled  up  in  one  cor- 
ner, where  it  was  thrown  down  by  the  men  who  brought  it 
nearly  a  day's  journey  on  their  backs.  Our  bags  of  meal, 
earthen  pots,  and  a  goat-skin  of  honey  the  doctor  had  laid  in  for 
the  winter,  occupied  another.  Though  there  was  no  chimney,  we 
found  no  inconvenience  from  the  smoke  ;  for,  let  the  wind  blow 
from  what  quarter  it  would,  there  was  a  place  for  the  one  to  enter, 
and  a  second  for  the  other  to  go  out.  When  it  blew  from  the 
door,  just  opposite  our  beds,  bundles  of  straw  were  inserted  both 
above  and  below  it,  to  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the  stack  at 
the  Patriarch's.  On  the  same  side  was  our  window,  also 
stuffed  full  of  straw,  which  a  visitor  beo;sed  for  his  cow  one 
day,  alleging  that  it  was  a  sin  to  waste  good  provender  for 
such  a  purpose.  The  north-west  side  was  intended  to  be  entirely 
open  in  summer ;  but,  as  the  snow  round  the  house  was  ther 
in  places,  two  feet  deep,  it  was  filled  with  a  partition  of  wicker 
work,  that  excluded  neither  cold  nor  snow.  As  this  was  the  cold 
quarter,  and  storms  were  not  infre(^uent,  we  leaned  some  loose 
boards  against  it,  as  an  additional  defence ;  but  these  were  often 
blown  down,  and  made  sad  havoc  among  our  earthen  pots, 
though  we  did  not  feel  so  keenly  their  loss  in  this  way  as  when 
they  faithlessly  emptied  our  dinner  in  the  fire.  This  was  a  poor 
place  for  an  ague-fit,  but  it  was  the  best  we  had ;  and  the 
record  of  the  weather  reads  :  "April  27,  rain  and  hail,  nearly  all 
day,  covering  everything  with  ice.  28,  rain,  turning  to  snow. 
May  1st,  rain  and  hail ;  2d,  rain  and  very  cold  wind  ;  3d  and 
4th,  rain,  hail  and  snow,  each   day."     Though  this,  we    were 


308  DR.    GRANT     AND     THE 

assured,  was  luiusually  inild  for  the  season,  as  the  feast  of  Mar 
Gjuergis  (St.  George),  that  occurs  about  the  1st  of  May,  is 
generally  celebrated  on  the  surface  of  the  unmelted  snow. 

This  was  tlie  only  room  then  finished,  though  the  plan  em- 
braced ti  building  for  the  residence  of  three  mission  families, 
sixty  feet  square,  besides  a  chapel,  school-room,  stables,  &c.  As 
our  mode  of  building  would  not  warrant  the  erection  of  a  second 
story,  it  necessarily  occupied  a  large  surface  ;  but,  with  a  roof 
within  the  reach  of  every  boy,  and  windows  almost  level  with  the 
ground  outside,  it  was  hardly  a  castle  in  any  sense  of  the 
term.  Yet  Dr.  Grant  has  been  charged  with  building  on  an 
isolated  hill,  commanding  the  whole  valley  ;  and  surprise  has 
been  expressed  that  one  so  well  acquainted  with  the  character 
of  the  people  should  have  been  so  indiscreet  in  the  choice  of  the 
location,  and  the  size  of  the  edifice.  As  to  the  last,  perhaps  no 
more  need  be  said.  Considering  the  number  of  families  to  be 
accommodated,  one  can  scarcely  tell  what.was  to  be  spared  ;  and 
no  one  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  mountaineers  would 
recommend  mission  families  to  be  far  from  one  another,  in  case 
of  the  absence  of  any  of  the  missionaries.  As  to  the  location, 
though  I  am  sorry  to  difi'er  from  the  distinguished  traveller  who 
refers  to  it,  yet  justice  to  the  memory  of  a  departed  friend 
requires  me  to  say,  what  he  himself  will  remember,  on  reflection, 
that  the  hill  is  not  isolated,  as,  writing  perhaps  from  memory,  he 
has  inadvertently  called  it ;  though  it  may  appear  so  to  one 
approaching  it  from  below,  where  the  higher  part  of  the  same 
ridge  is  concealed  from  view.  He  will  recollect,  also,  that  the 
valley  is  so  irregular,  and  the  village  so  scattered  among  smaller 
valleys,  running  in  various  directions,  that  it  is  absolutely  im- 
possible one  position  should  command  the  whole.  The  diiferent 
and  widely-separated  hamlets  that  compose  the  village  can  be  seen 
at  one  view  only  from  the  mountains  which  enclose  the  valley. 
As  to  a  lower  position,  the  fevers  prevalent  in  the  narrow  valleys, 
CO  say  nothing  of  other  annoyances,  led  Dr.  Grant  wisely  to  avoid 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  ~         311 

them.  We  shall  soon  see  the  alterations  that  had  to  be  made  in 
the  unpretending  mission-house,  in  order  to  transfer  it  into  a  castle. 

The  accompanying  plate  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  the  gener- 
ality of  native  houses  in  the  mountains.  For  a  further  descrip- 
tion of  the  house,  see  p.  133,  and  the  Arzaleh,  p.  185. 

The  feast  of  Easter  (according  to  the  Nestoiian?;)  occurred 
on  the  23d  of  April,  and  for  fifty  days  previous  they  had  been 
keeping  their  great  annual  fast.  During  this,  both  old  and 
3^oung  rigidly  abstained  from  food  till  after  evening  prayers. 
Even  decrepit  old  women  might  be  seen,  seated  on  the  gi-ave-stones 
before  the  church,  groaning  from  sheer  exhaustion,  as  the  day 
advanced.  It  was  touching  to  see  them  conscientiously  abstain 
from  the  scanty  morsel  at  their  side,  because,  as  they  thought, 
God  had  forbidden  it.  No  Christian  could  have  seen  such  self- 
denial  and  not  been  ashamed  to  excuse  himself  from  any  service 
required  by  his  Redeemer. 

On  Saturday  evening  (the  22d),  all  was  active  preparation 
for  the  moiTOW.  Clothes  were  washed  ;  the  best  garments  were 
got  ready  ;  barbers  were  busy  shaving  the  head,  —  a  custom  as 
strange  to  us  as  our  shaving  of  the  chin  would  appear  to  them, 
—  and  busy  housewives  were  ransacking  their  stores  for  the  sub- 
stantial materials  of  the  feast.  They  formerly  offered  sacrifices 
on  such  occasions,  and  still  do  in  some  villages ;  but  the  custom 
was  lately  discontinued  here,  because,  as  they  said,  Jesus  Christ 
was  offered  once  for  all,  and  "  our  guilty  souls  require  no  sacri- 
fice beside."  A  pleasing  proof  that  their  minds,  though  dark, 
are  not  altogether  dormant. 

The  people  began  to  assemble  in  the  church  as  early  as  eight 
p.  M.,  for  the  services  commence  at  midnight,  and  are  not  fin- 
ished till  late  in  the  morning.  They  are  thus  lengthy,  because 
every  one  in  the  village  must  now  partake  of  the  sacrament. 
The  very  children  do  so  as  soon  as  they  can  go  alone,  baptism 
being  regarded  as  a  sufiicient  preparation.  Confirmation,  apart 
from  baptism,  is  unknown  among  them. 


312  D  R  .      G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  II  E 

In  the  morning  the  sun  shone  brightly.  The  very  day  seemed 
to  sympathize  with  the  general  joy.  The  snow  had  melted  unu- 
sually early,  and  almost  the  whole  of  the  lower  part  of  the  val- 
ley was  bare.  At  an  early  hour  the  narrow  paths  were  thronged. 
These  are  narrow  indeed,  —  every  inch  of  arable  land  is  so  pre- 
cious, —  and  barely  allow  a  man  to  pass  between  terraces  above 
and  below.  Indeed,  some  parts  of  the  village  are  utterly  inac- 
cessible on  horseback.  As  the  day  advanced,  the  scene  became 
more  animated.  From  all  directions  they  converged  towards 
the  church ;  most  carrying  some  contribution  to  the  common 
stock.  Occasionally  huge  wooden  bowls  of  millet  boiled  in 
buttermilk  —  the  great  staple  of  the  feast  —  were  borne  on  poles, 
by  two  stout  men,  after  the  manner  of  the  grapes  of  Eschol. 
The  conical  felt  hats  of  the  men,  —  some  black,  some  white,  — 
the  new  dresses  of  the  women,  and  the  gaudy  handkerchiefs  that 
formed  their  head-dress,  presented  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  tat- 
tered garments  of  the  poor.  Some  of  these  had  been  patched  so 
often  it  was  hard  to  tell  the  color  or  texture  of  the  original  ma- 
terial, or  by  what  attraction  the  apparently  loose  fragments 
were  held  together. 

At  noon  we  left  our  quiet  reading,  and  joined  the  crowds 
pressing  towards  the  church.  The  poplar-trees  were  just  bud- 
ding, green  grass  was  pursuing  the  retreating  snow,  and  vio- 
lets peeped  out  here  and  there  from  among  the  stones.  The 
steep  sides  of  the  surrounding  mountains  seemed  to  hedge  in  our 
thoughts  from  wandering  over  the  earth,  and  direct  them  upwards 
to  heaven  and  to  God.  But  our  attention  was  soon  eno-rossed 
by  the  multitude  before  us.  It  seemed  scarcely  possible  that  the 
village  had  contained  so  many.  The  little  field  in  front  of  the 
church  was  full.  The  flat  roof  of  the  kalleita  was  covered ;  each 
stone  in  the  grave-yard  was  crowded  ;  and  many  sat  on  the  damp 
earth,  as  on  an  accustomed  seat.  The  sound  of  their  voices  rose 
literally  above  the  i\oise  of  many  waters.  Each  voice  had  been 
trained  to  be  heard  from  hill  to  hill,  above  the  roaring  torrent, 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  318 

and  no  gentle  influence  had  taught  it  to  modulate  its  tones. 
The  very  multitude,  too,  roused  those  accustomed  to  the  solitudes 
of  the  mountains,  and  the  prospect  of  war  was  not  fitted  to  allay 
excitement.  Yet  all  was  harmony.  Old  men,  whose  white 
beards  rested  on  their  staves,  looked  with  pensive  kindness  on 
the  little  children,  —  perhaps  thinking  of  their  own  childhood, 
perhaps  of  the  dark  future,  near,  but  unnoticed  in  their  thought- 
less glee.  The  young  men  were  full  of  the  threatening  prospect, 
and  vainly  sought,  in  the  opinions  of  eacli  other,  a  relief  from 
their  own  forebodings,  though  some  seemed  to  have  no  thought 
beyond  the  hilarity  of  the  moment. 

A  merry  group  of  girls,  under  a  walnut-tree  at  some  distance, 
were  all  absorbed  in  the  dance.  They  were  not  over  twelve 
years  of  age.  There  was  no  finery  in  their  dress,  and  as  little 
of  art  in  their  movements ;  but  the  regular  stamp  of  their  feet 
on  the  green  turf,  their  gleeful  voices  and  happy  looks,  recalled 
the  dances  of  the  daughters  of  Shiloh,  in  other  days.  They  joined 
hands  in  a  circle ;  then  each  hand  moved  ^simultaneously,  and 
every  foot  was  lifted  and  set  down  as  by  one  impulse.  This  was 
repeated  thrice,  and  then  the  whole  circle  fiev/  round  three  steps. 
Again  they  beat  time  to  their  own  wild  music,  and  then  ad- 
vanced as  before.  Joy  supplied  the  place  of  art,  and  left  no 
regret  for  the  substitution.  But  now  the  feast  was  ready,  and 
the  multitude  were  seated  in  rows  on  the  ground,  —  reminding 
us  of  the  fifties  on  the  grass  on  another  occasion,  —  and  at  reg- 
ular intervals  the  huge  bowls  of  millet  were  set  between  them. 
These  were  three  feet  in  diameter ;  and  in  the  centre  of  each  a 
small  bowl  of  melted  butter  was  imbedded  in  the  mass.  Each 
attacked  the  segment  nearest  him,  and  dipped  his  spoonful  in  the 
smaller  bowl.  There  was  no  second  course;  and  we  did  our 
utmost  to  enjoy  the  first,  though,  probably,  with  less  success  than 
those  "  who  dipped  with  us  in  the  dish." 

When  the  men  were  satisfied,  the  women  and  children  —  who 
till  now  had  busily  replenished  the  butter-bowls  —  sat  down  in 


314  BR.     G  11  A  N  T     A  X  U     T  11  E 

their  turn,  and,  after  them,  the  poor  ate  what  they  could,  and 
then  carried  home  the  remainder. 

We  were  glad  to  return  to  our  quiet  quarters,  and  spend  the 
rest  of  the  day  more  in  accordance  with  our  views  of  Sabbath 
enjoyment. 

The  feast  was  continued  at  their  houses  for  two  days  more, 
and,  soon  after,  was  followed  by  the  feast  of  Mar  Gyuergis,  the 
patron  saint  of  the  village  church.  The  people  regard  these 
fasts  and  feasts  as  commandments  of  the  gospel,  and  essential  to 
salvation  ;  hence  a  burden  of  ceremonies  is  substituted  for  the 
moral  law,  and  a  righteousness  of  their  own  for  the  grace  that 
is  in  Christ ;  —  the  very  errors  from  which  the  apostles  labored 
to  defend  some  of  the  early  churches. 

Dr.  Grant  had  an  interview  with  Mar  Shimon  before  he  went 
to  meet  the  emir  at  Chumba.  The  Patriarch  renewed  his  assur- 
ances of  unabated  confidence,  and  his  determination  to  cooperate 
with  him  for  the  improvement  of  his  people.  He  spoke  of  the 
self-denial  of  Dr.  Grant,  in  leaving  the  comforts  of  home  to 
labor,  amid  much  privation,  for  their  good  ;  and  did  not  conceal 
his  apprehension  of  danger,  as  well  as  privation  ;  —  hinting  that, 
even  among  his  own  people,  there  might  be  those  who,  for  money, 
would  do  the  bidding  of  the  Kurds.  When  he  asked  what 
course  he  himself  should  pursue  with  the  emir,  the  doctor  told 
him  to  "  Follow  peace  with  all  men  ;  "  and,  when  afterwards  sent 
for  to  Chumba,  refused  to  go,  on  the  ground  that  he  wanted  him 
only  for  political  business.  The  emir  had  written  a  verj^  cordial 
reply  to  a  letter  we  sent  him  soon  after  our  arrival. 

Early  one  Sabbath  morning  we  opened  our  eyes  on  the  start- 
ling sight  of  five  armed  Kurds  seated  in  front  of  our  beds. 
They  brought  a  letter  from  Badir  Khan  Bey,  desiring  a  profes- 
sional visit  from  the  doctor.  Though  well  aware  of  his  bigoted 
hatred  of  Christianity,  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  try  to  win  his 
confidence;  and,  as  his  complaint  would  admit  of  delay,  he 
promised  to  visit  him  in  tlio  eo;ir;^o  of  a  month,  when  he  should 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11  I  A  N  S  .  315 

be  mpre  at  liberty.  With  this  reply  we  dismissed  them,  not 
altogether  satisfied  about  the  real  object  of  their  errand.  Hardly 
had  they  gone  when  Kasha  Auraham  came  in,  with  many  anxious 
inquiries  about  them.  The  chief  men  of  the  village  soon  followed ; 
and,  after  a  spirited  discussion,  pronounced  them  spies.  Some 
wished  to  pursue  and  kill  them ;  but  then  they  were  our  guests, 
and  that  would  not  do.  Some  said  one  thing,  and  some  another, 
till  Dr.  Grant  put  the  gospels  into  the  hands  of  Kasha  Auraham, 
to  translate  several  chapters,  making  practical  comments  as  he 
proceeded.  The  translations  made  at  Oroomiah  were  under- 
stood but  imperfectly  here,  though  they  afforded  much  aid  in 
communicating  truth ;  and  a  little  alteration  —  perhaps  vari- 
ations of  dialect,  noted  in  the  margin  —  Dr.  Grant  thought  might 
adapt  one  translation  of  the  Bible  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 
We  sent  many  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  in  ancient  Syriac,  to  the 
more  remote  districts,  generally  at  the  request  of  the  priests, 
who  were  able  to  read  them. 

The  people  could  not  resume  the  building  of  the  mission-house 
till  after  Easter,  and  then  they  demanded  higher  wages, — 
assembling,  to  the  number  of  fifty  or  more,  and  making  rather 
tumultuous  demonstrations.  Dr.  Grant  sat  quietly  in  the  house, 
regardless  alike  of  the  threats  outside  and  the  advice  of  some 
professed  friends  within,  who  urged  him  to  pacify  them  by 
acceding  to  the  demand.  But  he  simply  wrote  down  the  names 
of  the  leaders  of  the  mob  ;  and  it  was  wonderful  to  see  the  effect 
on  those  fierce  mountaineers.  The}'-  soon  became  quite  manage- 
able ;  and,  instead  of  demanding  higher  wages,  they  quarrelled 
with  each  other  for  employment  at  the  former  rates.  The  only 
trouble  now  was  the  old  one  of  limiting  the  number  of  workmen. 
Those  who  did  work  w^rought  with  a  will.  Some  carried  large 
stones  on  their  backs ;  others  brought  water,  in  goat-skins,  from 
the  stream  close  by,  and  poured  it  on  the  loose  earth,  which 
their  bare-legged  companions,  with  pick  and  spade,  were  work- 
ing into  mortar.  The  masons,  with  their  rude  hammers,  reared 
26 


316  D  R  .    G  R  A  N  T     AND     THE 

the  rough  walls  as  men  used  to  do  before  plummets  w^-e  in- 
vented. Eight  men  on  a  side  seized  the  cross-bars,  to  which  a 
poplar  beam  was  lashed,  sometimes  twenty-five  feet  long,  and 
nearly  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  moved  oif  with  the  burden  on 
their  shoulders,  —  up  hill  and  down,  across  terraces  and  over 
walls,  relieved  at  intervals  by  another  set  of  bearers,  till  they 
deposited  it  safely  in  its  place.  Split  sticks  and  branches  were 
laid  across  these  ;  next  stones  and  bushes ;  and,  above  all,  a 
layer  of  wet  earth,  duly  stamped  and  rolled,  completed  the  roof. 
The  frequent  storms  hindered  the  work  out  of  doors,  and  made 
us  none  too  comfortable  within.  New  earthen  roofs  are  not 
always  storm-proof,  as  we  found  out  when  the  m^uddy  water 
filtered  through,  one  rainy  night,  upon  our  beds.  The  stone 
roller  is  the  remedy  in  such  cases ;  and  Dawiid  was  soon  at 
work  repairing  damages.  Ail  at  once  his  thunder  ceased.  What 
was  the  matter  ?  We  waited,  and  waited  :  it  was  not  resumed 
Perhaps  he  had  fallen  from  the  roof  in  the  dark.  Torch  in  hand, 
the  doctor  sallied  out,  but  nothing  was  to  be  found ;  —  till,  after 
long  suspense,  the  servant  returned,  bringing  the  Nestorian  who 
had  taken  the  care  of  the  roof  by  the  job.  The  leak  was  soon 
stopped,  and  all  asleep  again.  But  the  scene  of  that  stormy 
night  still  remains  in  the  picture  memory  paints  of  our  mountain- 
home,  memorable  as  the  only  instance  in  which  the  writer  knew 
Dr.  Grant  to  manifest  anything  like  fear;  —  an  illustration  of 
the  strange  inconsistency  of  our  nature,  that  makes  a  bold  man 
timid  when  there  is  least  occasion  for  timidity. 

Each  succeeding  day  brought  with  it  the  same  rude  outline  of 
rouo-h  walls  and  earthen  floor,  smoky  fire  and  crowded  room; 
for,  after  Mar  Shimon  left,  it  was  the  common  lounging-place 
of  the  village.  Our  school  was  in  another  room,  under  the  care 
of  Priest  Ezeieh,  who  led  his  forty  pupils  out  on  the  house-top 
whenever  they  could  enjoy  the  warmth  of  the  sun.  In  our  room 
the  sick,  the  lame  and  the  blind,  congregated,  with  their  tat- 
tered garments  nnd  tales  of  distress.     Some  came  for  books,  and 


.'•I  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     X  !■:  S  T  0  i;  I  A  N  >i  .  317 

some  for  bargains ;  and  those  Avho  had  no  other  object  came  to 
gossip.  One  old  priest  was  paid  for  five  trees,  and  then  insisted 
they  were  but  four.  At  another  time  he  sold  a  dozen  wooden 
spoons,  and  then  carried  off  money,  spoons  and  all.  An  old 
man,  with  a  beard  that  would  have  been  white  had  it  not  been 
embrowned  with  smoke,  used  to  seat  himself  by  the  fire,  day 
after  day,  with  his  pipe  resting  on  the  ground  between  his  knees, 
and  retail  the  village  chronicle  of  seventy  years.  There  was  no 
being  alone,  even  in  our  own  house.  Sometimes  a  visitor  would 
take  his  siesta  quite  at  his  ease  ;  and  not  unfrequently  they  per- 
formed a  work  of  self-examination,  —  confined,  however,  to  the 
outer  man,  —  which,  though  it  relieved  them,  was  quite  too  near 
our  beds  to  be  either  agreeable  or  safe.  We  learned,  by  sad 
experience,  to  sympathize  with  the  Egyptians  in  their  third 
plague,  if  nothing  more  ;  for,  however  laboriously  we  rid  our 
clothes  of  our  tormentors  at  night,  fresh  recruits  were  always 
ready  for  the  vacant  places.  And  yet  it  would  not  do  to  enforce 
sanitary  rules ;  and  it  was  poor  consolation  to  know  that  the 
jittenipt  to  keep  even  one  corner  of  home  sacred  from  such  intru- 
sion would  secure  its  demolition,  as  the  depository  of  a  treasure 
we  were  trying  to  conceal. 

Fatal  assaults  on  each  other,  also,  are  by  no  means  rare. 
One  man  had  killed  his  cousin  in  a  quarrel,  in  1842,  and  com- 
promised the  matter  by  agreeing  to  pay  the  usual  price  of  blood, 
from  twenty-five  to  fifty  dollars.  Twenty  dollars  still  remained 
unpaid ;  but,  though  his  life  was  in  jeopardy,  he  would  not  sell 
an  article  below  its  full  value  to  secure  his  safety.  Another 
was  brought  to  Dr.  Grant,  at  this  time,  horribly  mangled. 
Single-handed  he  had  attacked  a  whole  Kurdish  village,  to 
revenge  some  trespass  on  his  pasture-grounds ;  and,  after 
wounding  several,  —  one  of  them  mortally,  —  he  was  overpow- 
ered, and,  as  they  thought,  despatched  with  their  daggers.  His 
friends  found  him,  however,  still  conscious,  and  carried  him  a 
day's  journey  over  the  mountain.      Under  Dr.  Grant's  skilful 


318 


DR.    GRANT     AND     THE 


treatment,  he  recovered,  much  to  their  surprise.  The  men  of 
Ashitha  had  a  reputation  for  robbery  that  made  them  the  terror 
of  surrounding  districts.  This  ungoverned  temper,  and  the  pas- 
sion for  plunder,  led  to  the  drawing  of  daggers,  in  plain  sight 
IVom  our  door,  over  so  trifling  a  matter  as  a  few  stalks  of  fennel, 
and  only  the  interference  of  Dr.  Grant  prevented  actual  blood- 
shed ;  for,  unlike  the  Arabs,  they  seldom  carry  on  a  war  of 
words  alone. 

These  traits  of  the  Nestorians  themselves ;  the  known  hatred 
Df  the  Kurds  against  Franks,  especially  when  seeking  to  elevate 
the  Nestorians,  their  hereditary  foes ;  the  suspicion  with  which 
the  Turks  legarded  our  movements  in  what  they  called  a  rebel- 
lious part  of  the  empire;  and  the  almost  audible  approach  of 
war, —  filled  us  wdth  dark  apprehensions  for  the  future. 

About  this  time,  Dr.  Grant  wrote  to  Mrs.  Jones,  at  Oroomiah, 
as  follows : 

"Would  that  I  could  hear  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
among  you,  or  witness  them  in  this  more  difficult  and  trying 
field !  Shall  I  say  I  have  some  sad  hours,  in  view  of  the  want 
of  this  blessing  ?  Nothing  else  can  either  prepare  our  way,  or 
give  success.  In  relation  to  this  branch  of  the  mission  I  hardly 
know  what  to  say.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about,  and 
we  can  see  light  only  by  looking  up.  Perhaps  my  ill  health 
adds  gloominess  to  the  view.  But  I  am  not  disheartened.  God 
will  over-rule  all  the  wrath  of  his  enemies,  foi  the  good  of  his 
own  glorious  cause.  I  rejoice  that  Mr.  L.  is  at  length  in  the 
mountains.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss,  and  Dr.  Smith,  are  expected 
in  June.  I  am  anxious  to  see  the  mission  fairly  established 
before  they  lose  any  assistance  that  I  can  render.  But  all  cur 
prospects  are  uncertain.  Oar  short-sighted  plans  may  soon  be 
made  to  give  way  to  purposes  infinitely  wise. 

"  I  fear  lest  the  ill  health  of  my  brother  Ira,  and  the  pressing 
wants  o:  my  children,  should  call  me  to  America ;  but,  so  long 
as  1  am  .ble  to  labor  here,  I  have  no  wish  to  return,  strong'  n'.i 


MOUNTAIN      N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  319 

are  the  ties  that  bind  me  to  those  dear  to  my  heart.  I  regret, 
therefore,  to  add  that  my  health  has  not  been  so  good,  of  late. 
The  tax  upon  my  strength,  in  these  difficult  mountains,  is  more 
than  my  system  can  bear,  to  say  nothing  of  the  responsibility 
and  care  that  burden  me.  Every  day  brings  some  new  anx- 
iety, and  all  is  increased,  rather  than  relieved,  by  the  prospect 
of  others  sharing  these  trials  and  privations." 

On  the  llth  of  May,  Mr.  L.  returned  to  Mosul  to  bring  in 
the  mission  families,  and  the  question  of  what  was  expedient  in 
the  matter  occasioned  us  no  little  anxiety.  On  the  one  hand, 
were  these  grounds  for  apprehension.  On  the  other,  to  vacillate 
now  was  to  forfeit  all  the  confidence  won  with  such  hazard  and 
difficulty  by  Dr.  Grant.  The  sight  of  our  families  in  the 
mountains,  while  it  assured  the  Nestorians  of  our  friendship, 
might  also  disarm  the  suspicion  of  the  Kurds.  The  confidence 
thus  placed  in  them  might  satisfy  even  their  jealous  hearts  of 
the  innocence  of  our  intentions.  But  we  were  not  long  in  sus- 
pense. The  clouds  gathered  new  blackness  ;  not  only  breaking 
up  our  labors,  but  even  threatening  to  exterminate  the  people 
whom  we  sought  to  benefit. 

When  Mr.  L.  reached  Mosul,  he  found  the  Porte  had  refused 
firmans  to  Dr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Bliss,  on  the  ground  that  it  could 
not  at  present  tolerate  Franks  in  the  mountains.  Determined  to 
subjugate  Kurdistan,  it  wished  to  do  so  without  the  embarrass- 
ment occasioned  by  their  presence. 

In  the  mountains.  Mar  Shimon,  failing  to  make  peace  with  the 
emir,  summoned  his  Vv^arriors  to  the  field.  But  they  refused  tQ 
obey  the  call.  Even  the  much-dreaded  anathema,  pronounced 
against  each  house  which  did  not  furnish  one  man,  fell  unheeded, 
because  it  fell  on  nearly  all  alike.  The  Patriarch,  with  the  fe 
who  rallied  to  his  standard,  could  only  irritate  the  Kurds,  with 
out  inflicting  material  injury.  The  burning  of  the  bridge  at  Ju 
lamerk,  and  a  foray,  headed  by  his  brothers,  from  Diss,  especially 
provoked  their  vengeance.   . 

2m 


320  DR.     r.  K  A  N  T     AND     T  H  K 

The  promised  aid  of  Budir  Khan  Bey  ^Yas  not  wanting.  A  thou- 
sand of  his  soldiers  were  already  on  their  march.  They  were 
first  heard  of  on  the  Habor,  opposite  Ashitha,  and  all  that  vil- 
lage was  in  instant  commotion.  Abont  forty  were  at  work  on 
the  house  when  the  news  arrived  ;  and  Dr.  Grant,  who  observed 
the  workings  of  their  minds,  says  that,  though  evidently  afraid 
for  their  flocks,  they  were  nothing  daunted  for  themselves. 
Labor  was  at  once  suspended.  Each  ran  for  his  gun  ;  eighty 
of  the  more  active  started  off  to  reconnoitre.  Others  hastened 
to  bring  in  the  more  distant  flocks.  All  were  ready  to  meet 
the  foe  ;  but  the  scouts  returned  without  having  been  able  to  find 
them.  The  next  night  alarm-guns  were  again  fired  by  the  shepherds 
on  the  mountains,  and  answered  instantly  from  all  parts  of  the 
village.  The  night  was  dark,  and  the  sudden  flash  of  the  guns, 
followed  long  after  by  the  report,  was  a  stirring  sight.  None 
knew  how  great  or  how  near  was  the  danger  ;  but  each  at  once 
prepared  for  the  worst.  Some  hid  their  more  valuable  effects  in 
a  secret  cave.  Others  buried  them  in  pits  nearer  home.  As 
Dr.  Grant  knew  that  none  but  a  large  army  could  penetrate  into 
the  valley,  however  smaller  parties  might  rob  the  pasture- 
grounds,  he  determined  to  remain  to  the  last,  ready  to  go  at  a 
moment's  notice.  Before  midnight,  the  welcome  signal  pro- 
claimed "  All 's  well  !  "  and  next  day  all  were  quietly  at  work  as 
before,  though  angry  with  their  neighbors  of  Halmon  and  Jera- 
min  for  what  they  deemed  a  false  alarm.  These  villages,  unpro- 
tected themselves,  are  the  sentinels  of  Tyary  to  the  west,  and  had 
already  suffered  much  from  both  Kurds  and  Turks.  That  very 
spring,  a  detachment  of  lawless  mercenaries  had  fallen  on  Hal- 
mon, and  killed  twelve  men  and  seven  women,  before  the  vil- 
lagers could  either  flee  or  submit.  The  last  of  their  flocks  were 
carried  off*;  and,  as  nothing  remained  to  plunder,  the  pasha  sold 
the  villages  back  again  to  the  Patriarch. 

The  inju^>tice  of  blaming  these  villages  was  acknowledged  at 
once,  when  they  found  that  the  force  had  actually  passed,  but, 


MOUNTAIN     NEST0RIAN3.  321 

instead  of  attacking  the  zozan  of  Ashitha,  where  they  feared  too 
warm  a  reception,  had  gone  against  that  of  the  Malek,  near  Ma- 
lota,  where  Dr.  Grant  had  left  all  so  happy,  less  than  a  year  be- 
fore. It  Avas  a  real  Kurdish  chappow.  Several  men,  women  and 
children,  were  slain,  and  four  or  five  thousand  sheep  driven  away, 
before  a  force  could  be  gathered  to  the  rescue.  The  loss  fell 
chiefly  on  the  Malek,  doubtless  in  revenge  for  his  constant  sup- 
port of  Mar  Shimon  against  the  emir.  Redress  was  out  of  the 
cpiestion,  for  who  could  punish  the  Bey  of  Bulitan  ?  The  Malek 
could  only  deplore  his  loss,  and  anticipate  yet  greater  evils.  But, 
though  all  expected  these,  through  a  strange  want  of  union,  no 
measures  were  taken  to  avert  them.  Mar  Shimon  dismissed  his 
few  remaining  followers,  and  returned  nearly  alone  to  Ashitha, 
full  of  wrath  against  the  emir,  as  the  true  cause  of  the  disaster. 
He  was  also  provoked  with  his  own  people,  for  their  refusal  to 
assist  him.  He  now  turned  to  the  Turks,  and  applied  to  the 
Pasha  of  Mosul  for  the  aid  he  had  been  led  to  expect.  But 
such  conditions  of  submission  were  insisted  on  as  led  to  the 
reply,  "  We  are  not  foxes,  that  we  should  fear,  but  lions,  and 
can  fight !  "  This  was  not  what  was  wanted,  and  the  pasha 
referred  the  Patriarch  to  the  Mutsellim  of  Dawudia,  as  their 
medium  of  communication.  The  answers  of  the  latter,  however, 
were  forwarded  in  Syriac  from  Mosul,  and,  without  being  able  to 
read  them,  he  afiixed  his  seal,  and  forwarded  them  to  the 
Patriarch  as  his  own.  Vague  hopes  were  held  out,  and  submis- 
sion was  still  insisted  on.  At  one  time  the  Patriarch  was  told 
that  Badir  Khan  Bey  would  not  be  allowed  to  go  against  him  ; 
and  again  he  wrote,  "  If  he  sends  an  armj^  on  that  side,  I  will 
send  another  on  this  ;"  an  enigmatical  sentence,  doubtless  in- 
tended to  be  understood  very  diiferently  from  the  way  in  which 
it  was  afterwards  fulfilled. 

The  detention  of  Messrs.  Smith  and  Bliss,  though  at  first  very 
trying  to  us,  proved,  in  the  end,  a  merciful  providence,  as  it 


322  DR.     G  R  A  X  T     A  X  D     T  II  E     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  . 

Avas  now  evident  that  tliosc  in  Mosul  should  not  enter  the  moun- 
iains,  though  Dr.   Grant  did  not,  as  yet,  see  it  duty  to  retire. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  for  his  promised  visit  to  Badir 
Khan  Bey ;  and,  hoping  to  receive  new  light  on  the  course  to 
be  pursued  in  the  present  crisis,  he  determined  to  go.  Mar 
Shimon  objected,  lest  it  should  look  like  suing  for  peace  ;  and 
Dr.  Grant  confessed,  "  In  my  secret  heart  I  often  wished  the 
promise  had  not  been  made  ;  but  made  it  had  been,  and  good 
might  gro-w"  out  of  it.  At  least,  I  should  prove  we  w^ere  men  of 
truth,  and,  if  suspicions  existed,  they  might  be  removed.  At  any 
rate,  I  felt  that  I  must  go  ;  "  and  the  Patriarch,  finding  him 
resolved,  at  length  approved  of  the  measure." 

Dr.  Grant  thus  writes  to  Mr.  Stocking,  June  4th  :  "  As  to 
our  situation  now,  our  reinforcement  is  detained.  Mr.  L.  urges 
me  to  join  him  in  Mosul,  and  not  stay  here,  where  the  present 
attitude  of  the  Porte  will  embolden  both  the  pasha  and  the 
Kurds  to  seek  my  life.  God  only  knows  what  may  grow  out  of 
all  this,  or  what  may  be  my  future  course.  Hitherto  my  Turk- 
ish protection  has  been  a  great  check  upon  men  of  blood.  May 
the  Lord  guide  me  in  the  right  way,  and  may  His  great  name  be 
glo-ified  !  " 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


VISIT   TO    BADIR    KHA!!     BEY FIERCENESS     OF     MOUNTAINEERS  —  KESTA 

ANTIQUITIES KAI.A     KUMRI THE     HABOR A     KURDISH    "  CUISINE  " 

DR.    grant's    COMMISSARIAT  A    SABBATH  IN    ZACHO RULE    OF    BA-- 

DIR     KHAN    BEY JEZIRA FORTS    IN     MOUNTAIN     PASS DERGULEH 

THE    ASSEMBLED    CHIEFS ORIGIN    OF     THE     WAR  —  BADIR     KHAN     BEY'S 

PROMISE     TO     DR.    GRANT HIS      CHARACTER SUMMER      QUARTERS A 

GEORGIAN  HOW    A    KURDISH    CHIEF    SPENDS     THE    DAY TRADITION    OF 

THE    ARK  —  SHAKII RETURN    TO    ASHITIIA. 


On  Thursday,  June  6th,  he  left  Ashitha,  at  six  a.  m.  Many 
had  collected  to  express  their  kind  wishes  for  his  safety,  and  all 
seemed  to  hope  that  good  would  result  from  his  visit;  for, 
though  he  had  repeatedly  told  them  he  could  not  interfere  witli 
politics,  yet  they  knew  his  labors  could  prosper  only  in  a  time 
of  peace.  Even  the  shepherds,  as  he  passed  along,  left  their 
flocks  to  invoke  blessings  on  his  journey,  and  bespeak  his 
mediation. 

He  could  not  but  pity  these  last,  —  poorly  sheltered  from  the 
storm,  with  barely  enough  to  sustain  life,  and  in  constant  alarm 
lest  they  should  either  be  slain  or  robbed  of  their  flocks,  which 
were  their  sole  dependence.  Only  a  few  of  them  had  fallen  as 
yet;  but  they  had  an  undefined  dread  of  heavier  calamities  to 
come.  For,  while  the  Patriarch  and  a  few  of  his  friends  looked 
to  the  Turks  for  help,  others  trusted  in  the  promises  of  the 
Kurds,  and  most,  without  any  common  plan  of  action,  sat  still, 
in  trembling  apprehension.  It  was  their  harvest  season,  —  if 
the  cutting  of  a  crop  Df  mountain  fennel  can  be  called  such. 
This  is  often  a  time  of  fierce  contention,  involving,  occasionally, 
whole  villages  in  war     for  the  quantity  is  small,  at  the  best ; 


324  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

the  limits  of  both  clans  and  individuals  are  indistinctly  marked: 
and  the  dagger  is  ever  in  the  girdle,  ready  to  do  the  bidding  of 
the  excited  temper.  But  now  each  toiled  within  his  own  limits 
in  peace,  or  aided  his  neighbor  to  collect  the  grass,  fennel  and 
thistles,  into  little  stacks  among  the  stones.  Two  hours  down 
the  valley,  in  the  district  of  Berwer,  he  passed  a  grove  of 
poplars,  the  usual  mark  of  a  village ;  but  he  found  only  houses 
burned  and  plundered  by  the  very  people  who  now  trembled  lest 
the  same  fate  should  befall  their  own.  Two  years  before,  they  had 
burned  several  villages,  in  this  district,  both  Kurdish  and  Nesto- 
rian,  excusing  the  plunder  of  their  brethren  by  the  plea,  that,  if 
they  had  spared  them,  the  Kurds  would  have  counted  it  a  reli- 
gious war,  and  not  only  destroyed  these  villages,  but  inflicted  a 
ten-fold  revenge.  Hitherto  he  had  followed  the  road  by  which 
Mr.  L.  returned  to  Mosul.  Now  he  turned  up  the  valley  to  the 
right,  and  crossed  the  mountain  by  a  gentle  ascent.  The  founda- 
tions of  an  old  castle,  built  of  immense  blocks  of  stone,  show  that 
the  pass  was  once  deemed  worthy  of  defence.  It  is  called  the  pass 
of  Kesta,  and  is  the  most  practicable  road  from  Zacho  to  the 
highlands  of  Assyria,  and  thence  to  Media  Atropatene.  The 
scenery  here  was  delightful.  Flowering  plants  lined  the  path, 
and  birds  carolled  sweetly  under  the  shade  of  ancient  oaks,  on 
whose  branches  grew  the  mistletoe.  The  sight  was  refreshing, 
and  reminded  the  weary  pilgrim  of  a  distant  home.  On  the 
western  face  of  the  mountain  he  passed  a  Kurdish  hamlet, 
watered  by  a  stream  that  flowed  into  the  Habor.  Further  on  was 
the  large  village  of  Aden  (Eden),  and  well  worthy  of  the  name, 
amid  its  groves  and  gardens.  The  stream  here  dashed  through  a 
narrow  gorge.  On  the  left,  the  ruins  of  an  aqueduct,  cut  partly 
in  the  face  of  the  cliflf,  and  partly  built  up,  with  great  labor, 
from  below,  probably  dated  from  the  same  period  as  the  ruins 
in  the  pass  above. 

After  crossing  and  recrossing  the  stream,  now  on  break-neck 
bridges,  and  now  dashing  through  the  water,  he  emerged  into  a 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  325 

more  open  country,  studded  with  villages,  each  overlooked  by 
the  castle  of  its  chief.  These  last  are  relatives  of  the  chief  of 
Berwer,  who  belongs  to  an  ancient  family,  called  by  the  Nesto- 
rians  the  family  of  Melka  Aziz  (the  beloved  king). 

Dr.  Grant  soon  came  in  sight  of  his  castle  (Kala  Kumri), 
perched  on  an  isolated  peak,  to  the  right,  much  higher  and 
smaller  than  that  of  Amadia. 

The  Habor  breaks  through  the  rugged  chain  on  the  north, 
and  flows,  almost  directly  under  the  castle.  Its  course  is  here 
south-west,  till  it  passes  the  end  of  the  Matineh  range,  whence  it 
flows  nearly  west  to  the  Tigris,  forty  miles  below.  Across  the 
river,  and  some  distance  above,  is  another  castle  of  the  Hertush 
Kurds,  then  occupied  by  the  noted  robber  Zeiner  Bey.  To 
avoid  him.  Dr.  Grant  left  the  direct  road,  which  here  crosses  the 
river  near  a  large  Jewish  village,  and,  bearing  more  to  the 
south,  crossed  an  intervening  valley.  At  five  p.  m.,  he  stood  on 
the  summit  of  the  Matineh  range,  Ashitha  bearing  north,  fifty 
degrees  east,  and  the  snowy  peak  of  Avrora  north,  thirty 
degrees  east.  At  a  quarter  before  seven  he  found  a  cordial 
welcome  at  the  small  Nestorian  village  of  Dey.  All  night  long, 
however,  he  was  kept  awake  by  the  howling  of  the  dogs.  Vil- 
lages not  far  ofi"  had  recently  been  robbed  ;  and  no  one,  when  he 
lay  down,  knew  whether  he  would  rise  again,  or  rise  a  beggar  ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  even  the  dogs  shared  in  the  general 
apprehension. 

Next  morning  he  left  at  five  o'clock ;  course  west  and  west- 
by -north,  three  hours,  to  the  Habor ;  then,  keeping  along  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  till  half-past  one  p.  m.,  he  stopped  at  an 
encampment  of  Kurds,  who  had  left  their  village,  if  not  their 
vermin,  to  breathe  the  pure  air  by  the  river's  bank.  Booths  of 
reeds  and  bushes,  from  six  to  twelve  feet  square,  sheltered  each 
one  its  family ;  and  the  shade  of  a  large  walnut-tree  was  the 
place  of  assembly.  Dr.  Grant  spread  his  rug  on  a  coarse  mat 
of  reeds,  and  tried  to  make  up  for  the  losses  of  the  night  before. 


82(3  DK.     GRAN  T     A  N  h     T  H  K 

But,  ere  he  was  fairly  asleep,  lie  was  summoned  to  partake  of 
some  half-baked  barley-bread  and  sour  milk,  poured  into  a  dirty 
wooden  bowl,  from  a  goat-skin  that  certainly  was  no  cleaner. 
This  was  followed  by  another  dish  of  the  same,  which  had  long 
ago  passed  into  the  acetous  fermentation.  It  waa  by  no  means 
a  feast  to  be  desired ;  but  it  was  all  the  place  afforded.  He  was 
anxious  to  go  on ;  and  the  people  told  him  there  vras  plenty  of 
villages  on  the  road,  all  better  than  their  own.  Happily,  a  young 
man  from  Zaeho  told  him,  in  Turkish,  that  there  was  not  a  hu- 
man dwelling  in  the  whole  six  hours'  ride.  So  he  invited  him- 
self to  stay,  as  much  against  his  own  will  as  theirs ;  and,  find- 
ing him  determined,  they  left  him  in  quiet  possession  of  all  out- 
doors. In  the  evening  the  chief  of  the  village  returned  from 
Zacho,  and  all  hastened  to  hear  the  news.  Such  and  such  vil- 
lages have  been  robbed  by  Zeiner  Bey.  Badir  Khan  Bey  is 
raising  a  large  army  against  Tyary,  and  says  he  will  break 
these  infidels,  or  they  him.  The  pasha  is  collecting  an  army  at 
Dawudia,  and  has  ordered  the  neighboring  Kurds  to  be  ready  to 
march  at  a  moment's  notice.  Such  was  some  of  the  news  eagerly 
devoured  by  all  the  village,  and  by  none  more  eagerly  than  by 
their  stranger  guests.  As  it  grew  late,  the  crowd  dispersed,  and 
Dr.  Grant,  having  carefully  secured  his  mule  close  by  his  side, 
soon  sunk  to  rest. 

Next  morning,  he  rose  with  the  dawn,  bound  on  his  girdle,  and, 
without  more  ado,  was  ready  for  his  journey.  The  sore  eyes  of 
the  villagers  kept  him  busy,  while  some  bread  was  half  smoked, 
half  baked,  for  his  attendants.  Cold  water  was  his  chief  pre- 
scription, ■ —  an  important  prophylactic  to  the  half-naked  urchins 
that  gambolled  around,  and  not  at  all  injurious  to  their  sunburnt 
mammas.  The  road  from  hence  to  Zacho  was  a  mere  foot-path, 
winding  through  deep  ravines  and  over  sandstone  hills,  clad 
in  dwarf  oaks  and  shrubs.  Several  villages  nestled  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  on  the  left,  and  the  Habor  flowed  on  the  right, 
swollen    by    the  melting    snows    of    mountains,    whose  shhiing 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  327 

summits  peeped  from  behind  the  darker  surface  of  an  intervening 
range  to  the  north-east. 

After  five  hours'  ride,  he  stopped  at  a  spring,  near  a  hamlet, 
visited  bj  the  villagers  in  the  day-time,  to  secure  their  crops, 
but  forsaken  at  night,  for  the  greater  security  of  the  villages  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  A  band  of  nomad  Kurds  passed 
while  he  was  there ;  but,  as  their  families  were  with  them,  he 
apprehended  no  danger.  It  was  not,  however,  a  place  to  linger, 
and,  moistening  some  gingerbread  and  crackers,  given  him  by 
the  good  ladies  of  Oroomiah  more  than  a  year  before,  he  hur- 
ried on.  A  mile  or  two  above  Zacho,  the  river  runs  close  to 
the  southern  range  of  mountains,  while  an  extended  plain,  of 
great  fertility,  stretches  away,  on  the  north,  nearly  to  Jezira, 
separated  only  by  the  Tigris  from  the  great  plain  of  Mesopo- 
tamia. The  Habor  here  flows  in  a  deep  narrow  channel, 
through  a  bed  of  conglomerate,  and  is  spanned  by  a  substantial 
stone  bridge,  very  high  in  the  middle,  and  supported  by  five 
arches  of  unequal  size.  Another  bridge  connects  the  island  of 
Zacho  to  the  southern  shore.  Crossing  this,  Dr.  Grant  entered 
the  place  at  one  p.  m.,  through  a  gate  guarded  by  soldiers,  after  a 
ride  of  seven  hours,  exclusive  of  delay.  He  repaired  immediately 
to  the  castle,  whose  garrison  was  utterly  unable  to  protect  the  vil- 
lages of  the  district  from  Kurdish  depredation.  Two  of  them 
had  been  robbed  the  night  before ;  but  the  robbers  escaped  with 
their  prey  before  the  deed  was  known,  and  what  could  be  done  ? 
As  long  as  Ismael  Pasha  hired  Zeiner  Bey  to  annoy  the  Pasha 
of  Mosul,  and  Badir  Khan  Bey  connived  at  it,  no  one  was 
safe.  Small  parties  of  soldiers  were  sent  out,  but  accom- 
plished nothing ;  and  the  Mutsellim,  like  a  good  Moslem,  sent 
word  to  his  superior,  and  then  sat  down  to  smoke  and  await  the 
result. 

Hearing  the  doctor  was  from  Tyary,  the  Mutsellim  inquired 
whether  he  was  a  servant  of  the  Balyos  (consul)  in  Ashitha,  and 
would  hardly  believe  that  the  humble  individual  before  him  was 
27 


328  I>R.     GRANT     AND     THE 

that  distinguished  personage  himself.  He  told  him  that  Badir 
Khan  Bey  had  threatened  to  drive  him  from  the  mountains,  and 
had  actually  sent  spies  to  see  what  he  was  about  in  Ashitha  ;  but 
that  he  need  fear  nothing  in  his  visit. 

As  no  quiet  could  be  had  in  the  castle  on  the  Sabbath,  the 
doctor  was  billeted  on  the  head  man  of  the  Jews.  This  was 
sad  news  to  his  Nestorians,  as  they  esteemed  the  food  of  a  Jew 
unclean.  It  was  Saturday,  too,  and  nothing  could  be  cooked 
till  after  sunset ;  but  the  Jews  offered  arrack,  of  which,  as  usual, 
they  had  partaken  rather  freely  themselves.  They  number 
about  one  thousand  souls,  but  were  formerly  much  more  numer- 
ous. As  usual,  Dr.  Grant  was  at  no  loss  in  conversing  with 
them.  They  showed  him  their  synagogue,  the  largest  building 
in  the  place,  except  the  castle.  But,  though  so  friendly,  they 
were  very  bigoted.  The  doctor  never  had  a  Hebrew  New  Tes- 
tament returned  to  him  before ;  and  some  young  men  who 
desired  copies  were  dissuaded  from  receiving  them.  Dr.  Grant 
observed  here,  for  the  first  time,  what  he  afterwards  learnt  was 
common,  that  the  Kurds  employ  Jews  to  circumcise  their 
children  in  the  Hebrew  mode,  rather  than  perform  it  themselves 
at  a  later  periodj  like  the  rest  of  the  Moslems.  He  had  more 
patients  than  he  could  attend  to,  and  did  not  form  a  favorable 
opinion  of  the  climate.  The  heat  was  very  oppressive  to  one 
fresh  from  the  cool  air  of  the  mountains. 

Monday  morning  he  had  to  ford  the  northern  branch  of  the 
river,  —  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  the  water  reaching  nearly 
to  the  backs  of  the  mules.  His  baggage  was  carried  over  on 
men's  Tieads;  and  a  very  tall  horse,  sent  by  the  Mutsellim, 
landed  him  safe  and  dry  on  the  shore.  Starting  at  seven  o'clock, 
he  followed  down  the  river,  and  at  half-past  eight  forded  the 
Hazil,  near  their  junction.  The  course  of  the  latter  stream, 
froni  the  pass  where  it  breaks  through  the  rocky  chain  of  Mount 
Judi,  is  due  south-west.     It  is  about  one-half  as  large  as  th  *. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  329 

Habor,  and  rises  near  Shakh,  a  village  two  and  a  half  days  from 
Van. 

The  doctor  was  now  in  the  territory  of  Badir  Khan  Bey ; 
and,  after  stopping  an  hour  and  a  half  at  one  Syrian  village,  to 
prescribe  for  the  sick,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  priest  he 
spent  the  night  at  another,  called  Dakea.  Just  before  this  he 
passed  a  village  of  Nestorians  and  Jews.  The  former  are  few 
in  number  on  the  plain,  but  more  numerous  in  the  neighboring 
mountains,  and  are  much  oppressed  by  both  Turks  and  Kurds. 
])r.  Grrant  had  seen  in  Ashitha  a  priest  from  Chellek,  —  a  village 
of  sixty  houses,  north-west  of  the  Habor,  —  who  fled  from  an 
oppression  he  could  no  longer  endure  ;  —  not,  however,  till  his 
own  brother  had  been  tortured  to  death,  in  the  eifort  to  exact 
more  money  than  he  was  able  to  pay.  The  mules  of  his  host  in 
Dakea  had  been  fancied  by  Badir  Khun  Bey ;  and,  as  no  one 
dares  to  withhold  anything  so  honored,  they  had  disappeared. 
The  bey  had  a  special  fancy  for  all  the  good  animals  of  "  unbe- 
lievers." Of  late,  too,  he  had  left  no  alternative  to  the  Yezi- 
dees  but  the  Koran  or  the  sword,  —  alleging  that  tribute  was 
only  the  privilege  of  those  who  received  the  law  or  the  gospel, 
and  they  had  neither.  Happily,  many  had  warning  of  what  was 
before  them,  and  fled ;  but  many  more  were  left  to  turn  Moslems, 
or  die  martyrs  for  Satan. 

It  was  not  till  the  year  before  that  the  bey  got  entire  posses- 
sion of  this  plain.  A  large  village  on  the  road  was  pointed  out 
as  the  scene  of  the  last  battle.  It  was  one  of  the  night-attackis 
for  which  the  Buhtan  Kiirds  are  so  famous.  The  onset  was 
fierce.  The  defence,  by  the  famous  Seiad  Bey,  was  no  less 
determined,  till  his  fill  decided  the  contest.  Some  of  the 
assailants  afterwards  described  the  scene  to  Dr.  Grant,  and 
boasted  of  their  deeds  of  blood. 

The  threatened  invasion  of  Tyary  was  the  next  topic ;  and  so 
fully  did  it  seem  to  be  settled,  the  doctor  almost  repented  of  his 
journey.     He  was  quite  interested  in  the  family  of  his  host. 


330  DR.     GRANT     AND     T  11  i: 

His  wife  was  the  ?tep-niother  of  children  nearly  as  old  as  her- 
self; but  all  seemed  fond  of  her.  And  yet  she  did  not  know 
their  language ;  and,  while  their  guest  conversed  with  them  in 
Syriac,  her  husband  now  and  then  translated  for  her  into  Kurd- 
ish. The  doctor  was  pleased  with  these  and  other  tokens  of 
mutual  attachment,  and  makes  special  mention  of  the  refinement 
of  a  dormitory  separated  by  a  curtain  from  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily, —  a  thing  so  very  uncommon  in  the  region,  it  could  not  well 
pass  unobserved. 

Next  morning,  June  13,  he  left  at  half-past  two  a.  m.,  to 
avoid  the  extreme  heat,  and  reached  Jezira  in  five  and  a  half 
hours.  This,  as  is  denoted  by  its  name,  is  an  island,  in  the 
Tigris.  It  is  the  Bezabde  of  Syriac  writers,  called  also  Kardu, 
Bakerdeh,  Zozarta,  Zabelita,  and,  by  the  Chaldeans,  Xurta. 
It  is  probably  the  Tigre  of  Ptolemy,  and  was  an  important  fort- 
ress in  the  Pvoman  district  of  Zabdicene,  which  was  subdued 
under  Dioclesian  and  Galerian.  Sapor  retook  it,  a.  d.  360, 
restored  its  fortifications,  and  garrisoned  it  with  a  colony  of 
veterans.  At  that  time  it  was  a  bishopric  of  the  Eastern  church ; 
for  Ammianus  Marcellinus  tells  us  that  "  the  Christian  Bishop 
of  Bezabde  went  to  Sapor  to  entreat  him  to  check  the  waste  of 
human  blood."  Heliodorus,  its  bishop,  two  priests,  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  others,  are  said  to  have  sufi"ered  martyrdom 
under  Sapor.  The  place  formerly  contained  five  convents. 
The  Nestorian  Patriarchate  was  here  for  a  time,  and  it  was  the 
seat  of  one  of  their  metropolitans  in  1616.  The  Jacobite  Bishop 
of  Azuk  —  six  hours  above  and  two  and  a  half  from  the  Tigris 
—  still  retains  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Bezabde  ;  and  a  Nestorian 
bishop  —  Mar  Yohannah  —  resides  still  nearer  in  the  moun- 
tains north-east  of  the  town. 

A  Saracenic  palace,  now  in  ruins,  faces  the  Tigris,  and  its 
alternate  rows  of  black  and  white  stone  present  an  imposing 
appearance  from  the  opposite  shore.     They  are  ascribed  to  an 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  3Sl 

early  period  of  the  Hejira,  but  may  have  risen  on  the  founda- 
tions of  a  more  ancient  structure. 

It  had  long  been  the  capital  of  the  chiefs  of  Buhtan,  who,  at 
this  time,  resided  in  mountain  fistnesses,  more  secure  from  the 
Turks.  Macdonald  Kinneir  was  imprisoned  here,  and  compelled 
to  pay  a  large  ransom ;  and  a  papal  missionary  was  killed,  be- 
cause the  patients  he  had  prescribed  for  did  not  recover.  A 
]Moslem  of  the  place  told  Dr.  Grant  that  one  of  their  nobility, 
returning  from  an  unsuccessful  hunt,  met  with  two  Christians, 
and  deliberately  shot  one  of  them  down,  saying,  as  he  fell, 
"  That  is  my  game  !  "  —  "  What  could  induce  him  to  do  so  ?  " 
asked  the  doctor.  "  Nothing,"'  replied  the  other,  "  only,  you 
know,  we  regard  it  a  great  sowab  (merit)  to  kill  a  Christian." 
Such  has  been  the  character  of  the  place,  and  such  are  still  the 
sentiments  of  its  inhabitants.  Judgments  have  overtaken  them. 
Their  independence  is  gone ;  but  their  hatred  of  Christians  is 
still  the  same.  In  1836  Col.  Shell  found  the  town  almost  in 
ruins,  and  only,  after  long  search,  could  obtain  a  wretched  hovel 
to  spend  the  day  in.  No  inhabitants  were  to  be  seen  :  it  abso- 
lutely contained  none  but  a  few  hundred  sickly,  miserable  sol- 
diers. Plague,  cholera  and  war,  had  ruined  the  place.  Neither 
barley  nor  straw,  not  even  grass,  could  be  got  for  his  horses. 
No  bread,  no  firewood ;  nothing  whatever,  either  from  the  gov- 
ernor or  the  bazaar.  About  that  time  a  nominal  Turkish 
authority  was  established  by  Reschid  Pasha,  and  the  town  was 
partially  re-peopled. 

Dr.  Grant  crossed  the  river  on  a  raft,  as  the  water  was  too 
high  to  use  the  bridge  of  boats.  A  good  stone  bridge  was  built 
here  by  Nurreddin,  but  has  long  since  gone  to  ruin,  leaving 
scarce  a  wreck  behind.  The  Mutsellim  quartered  his  visitor  on 
his  treasurer,  an  old  acquaintance,  to  whom,  as  physician,  he 
was  no  unweloome  guest.  The  best  of  everything  was  set  before 
him ;  and  even  his  worn-out  boots  were  replaced  by  new  ones, 
for  which  his  host  would  receive  nothing  in  return.  After  a  late 
27* 


332  DR.     GRANT     A  N  D     T  11  E 

breakfast,  the  doctor  wished  to  set  out  for  Derguleh,  the  castle 
of  the  Bey ;  but  no  guide  could  be  found,  till  a  Fellah,  who  had 
come  in  to  buy  a  sickle,  was  seized,  and  ordered  to  escort  him. 
He  begged  so  hard,  however,  that,  much  to  Dr.  Grant's  relief,  as 
well  as  his  own,  he  was  released.  Happily  a  Kurd  was  found 
at  the  river  going  in  the  same  direction,  and  to  his  care  he  was 
at  once  consigned. 

The  road  led  up  a  narrow  glen,  in  which  a  stream  flowed 
south-west  to  the  Tigris.  From  the  entrance  of  the  defile,  the 
range  —  it  was  the  famous  Mount  Judi  —  stretched  away  east- 
south-east  to  the  north  of  Zacho,  where  it  is  broken  through  by 
the  Hazil  and  Habor.  On  the  left  it  shut  down  so  abruptly  on 
the  Tigris  as  apparently  to  bar  all  progress  in  that  direction, 
though  that  pass  is  practicable  in  the  summer.  Xenophon  had 
good  reason  to  remember  it,  for  it  must  have  been  here  that  he 
resolved  to  march  over  the  mountains  that  jutted  out  into  the 
river,  when  his  prisoners  told  him  he  could  thus  either  cross  the 
head  of  the  Tigris,  in  Armenia,  or  go  round  it.  The  road  to 
Derguleh  is  the  regular  road  to  Sert  and  the  upper  Tigris. 
The  appearance  of  the  place  was  like  that  described  by  Xeno- 
phon, where  the  Carduchi  disputed  every  step,  and  rolled  down 
great  stones  on  the  advancing  Greeks.  The  pass  is  now  defended 
by  strong  forts,  two  on  the  right  declivity,  and  three,  one  above 
another,  on  the  left.  Some  of  these  had  been  built,  and  others 
repaired,  that  same  year,  —  if  not  to  maintain  greater  independ- 
ence of  the  Porte,  for  what  other  reason,  and  against  what  foe  ? 

Nestorian  masons  were  allured  from  Bass,  by  liberal  offers,  to 
labor  on  them.  But  the  Rayahs  of  Buhtan  were  forced  to  toil 
without  reward;  and,  when  they  complained,  were  tantalizingly 
told  to  become  Moslems,  and  they  would  be  released.  Still 
there  were  not  enough  of  laborers,  and  the  Mohammedan  peas- 
antry were  called  on  to  help.  This  did  not  suit  the  Moollahs, 
and  a  dangerous  fissure  in  one  of  the  walls  Avas  pointed  out,  as 
a  mark  of  divine  anger  at  the  employmeni  oi' "  iru.o  bulicverb.^' 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOllIANS.  333 

After  the  forts  were  finished,  the  poor  Christians  were  further 
compelled  to  build  a  stone  bridge  across  the  stream.  Not  far 
below  this  monument  of  Kurdish  intolerance  a  tunnel^  had  been 
cut  through  the  rock  in  early  times.  It  was  broken  in  several 
places,  and  seemed  just  large  enough  for  a  man  to  crawl  through. 

At  the  sunmiit  of  the  pass  an  uneven  upland  lay  before  the 
traveller,  and  scon  two  castles  and  the  village  of  Derguleh 
appeared,  crowning  a  high  bluff,  whose  base  is  washed  by  the 
torrent.  This  was  the  stronghold  of  Badir  Khan  Bey,  eighteen 
miles  from  Jeziru.  The  castles  were  square,  turreted  build- 
ings, whose  clean  white  walls  contrasted  pleasantly  with  the 
rough  crags  around.  On  the  north  needle-shaped  rocks  shot  up 
above  the  rest,  and  on  one  of  the  least  accessible  stood  the 
treasure-house  of  the  Bey. 

In  a  grassy  dell,  on  the  banks  of  a  limpid  stream,  near  the 
foot  of  the  castle-hill,  stood  the  green  tents  of  Ismael  Pasha  and 
the  Emir.  The  latter  met  his  physician  at  the  castle-gate  with 
an  inquiring  air,  and  expressed  surprise  at  his  presence  there. 
When  he  was  told  that  it  was  merely  a  professional  call,  he  bade 
him  welcome,  but  added,  with  significant  emphasis,  "  Do  not 
interfere  with  our  plans."  He  seemed  to  fear  the  doctor  had 
come  to  make  terms  for  the  Nestorians,  and  so  prevent  the  utter 
overthrow  he  so  much- desired. 

Satisfied  on  this  point,  he  went  to  announce  him  to  the  Bey, 
and  soon  returned,  and  introduced  him  as  his  old  friend  and 
physician. 

The  master  of  ceremonies  required  that,  on  approaching  the 
Bey,  he  should  kiss  his  hand,  according  to  custom  ;  but  the  doc- 
tor replied,  promptly,  that  he  should  do  no  such  thing.     So  ho 

*  Is  not  this  the  tunnel  where  Mr.  Layard  found  the^  bas-reliefs  de- 
scribed on  p.  55  of  his  "  Babylon  and  Nineveh"  ?  His  description  of  the 
march  of  Xencphon,  at  p.  62  of  the  same  volume,  is  probably  more  cor- 
rect than  that  f  Dr.  Grant,  as  he  went  over  so  much  more  of  the  route  of 
the  Ten  Thousand. 


334  D  K  .     G  11  A  N  T     A  In  \>     T  II  E 

was  left  to  pursue  his  own  course,  and  had  no  cause  to  complain 
of  his  reception  then,  or  treatment  afterwards.  The  Bey 
offered  him  a  room  in  the  castle,  adding  that  the  Emir  also 
wished  him  to  occupy  one  of  his  tents,  and  he  might  take  his 
choice.  The  doctor  compromised  the  matter,  by  making  the 
castle  his  home,  and  spent  a  part  of  each  day  with  the  Emir,  oc- 
casionally sharing  his  repasts,  as  in  former  days.  Ismael  Pasha 
was  here,  and  had  just  obtained  the  release  of  his  wives,  who  had 
been  detained  sixteen  months  as  hostages  in  Mosul,  by  engaging 
to  stop  the  robberies  of  Zeiner  Bey.  The  conduct  of  Badir 
Khan  Bey,  in  harboring  this  rebel  against  the  government  under 
which  he  held  his  own  office,  and  his  building  forts  with  one 
hand  while  he  paid  tribute  with  the  other,  may  serve  to  indicate 
the  character  and  position  of  the  man.  The  truth  was,  his  pro- 
fessed allegiance  gave  him  great  influence  throughout  northern 
Kurdistan ;  hence  he  was  willing  to  pay  for  it.  It  was  an  ob- 
ject, too,  to  be  at  peace  with  a  neighbor  against  whom  he  could 
not  contend.  When  summoned  before  the  Pasha  of  3Iosul,  his 
special  military  appointment  was  his  excuse  for  remaining  with 
his  army ;  and  as  long  as  he  paid  the  customary  tribute,  and 
sent  other  presents  to  the  capital,  the  Porte  did  not  care  about 
waging  an  expensive  and  perhaps  protracted  war.  He  stood 
ready,  moreover,  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Sultan ;  and  now  his 
powerful  arm  was  needed  in  a  long-desired  but  difficult 
enterprise. 

The  existence  of  an  independent  Christian  people  in  the  very 
centre  of  Islam  was  a  reproach  no  longer  to  be  endm-ed.  But 
neither  the  regular  Nizam,  the  cavalry  of  the  Janizaries,  nor  the 
heavy  artillery,  could  cope  with  them  in  their  mountain  strong- 
holds. Men  of  similar  habits,  accustomed  to  their  mode  of  war- 
fare, must  do. the  work.  For  this  the  conquests  of  Reschid  Pasha 
had  prepared  the  way ;  and,  though  the  Kurds  were  not  loyal 
to  the  Porte,  they  were  zealous  for  their  faith,  and  eager  tc 
wipe  off  many  a  long  score  of  blood. 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  il  I  A  N  3  .  335 

If  the  Turkish  government  was  at  all  desirous  of  the  con- 
quest of  the  Nestorians,  we  need  not  wonder,  after  what  we  have 
seen  of  the  existing  relations  between  them  and  the  Hakkary 
tribes,  to  find  these  last  most  zealous  in  effecting  it.  Indeed,  the 
Emir  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  whole  affair.  As  to  the  con- 
nection of  the  Turks  with  the  invasion,  Dr.  Grant  was  told  that 
the  Pasha  of  Erzrnm,  to  whom  the  Nestorian  country  nominally 
belonged,  was  in  correspondence  with  the  assembled  chiefs,  and 
(hat  the  war  had  received  his  sanction.  He  ventured,  one  day, 
to  suggest  to  the  Bey  that  he  had  heard  the  Pasha  of  Mosul 
would  aid  the  Nestorians.  With  a  smile  of  derision,  the  Kurd 
gave  a  most  decided  negative,  as  one  who  knew  perfectly  well 
whereof  he  affirmed.  The  refusal  of  firmans  to  Messrs.  Smith 
and  Bliss  was  now  explained.  Khan  Mahmud,  a  Kurdish  chief, 
subject  to  Van,  was  also  at  Derguleh,  at  the  request,  as  was 
said,  of  Badir  Khan  Bey. 

The  complete  subjugation  of  the  Nestorians  was  the  all-absorb- 
ing topic,  and  the  chiefs  spoke  about  it  before  Dr.  Grant  with- 
out the  least  reserve.  Both  the  Bey  and  Emir  assured  him  of 
their  protection,  if  he  remained  in  Ashitha ;  and  engaged  that 
not  only  his  property  and  person  should  be  unharmed,  but,  also, 
all  who  might  take  refuge  in  his  house.  They  promised,  more- 
over, that  the  whole  valley  of  Ashitha,  as  far  as  Lezan,  should 
be  spared  for  his  sake,  if  the  inhabitants  would  only  submit  and 
pay  tribute.  He  thanked  them  for  their  kindness,  and  told  them 
he  would  depend  on  their  redeeming  their  pledge  about  the 
mission-house,  whether  he  remained  or  not.  As  for  the  people, 
he  promised  to  tell  them  of  the  offer,  but  could  neither  advise 
them  to  accept  or  reject  it.  They  thought  this  over-scrupulous. 
"  But,"  said  the  doctor,  ''  suppose  evil  should  grow  out  of  it, 
would  they  not  say  I  occasioned  it  ?  "  "  What !  "  replied  the  Bey, 
"  do  you  doubt  our  pledge?"  and  he  repeated  it  again.  Dr. 
Grant,  in  retui-n,  explained  at  length  our  settled  policy  of  non- 
intervention ii.  pollticul  matters,  further  than  related  to  our  own 


336  DR.     GRANT     AND    THE 

protection.  He  then  showed  him  his  firmans,  &c. ;  but  the  Be^ 
neither  rose,  as  is  usual,  nor  heard  them  read.  He  merely 
handed  them  over  to  a  Moollah,  saying,  "  They  are  not  needed 
here ;  you  are  our  guest,  and  it  is  all  one  whether  you  have 
firmans  or  no.     Our  word  is  security  enough  in  Buhtan." 

The  Emir's  hatred  of  Mar  Shimon  could  not  be  concealed,  in 
some  of  these  interviews.  He  was  evidently  impatient  of  every 
day's  delay,  and  was  much  annoyed  to  hear  that  Hciyo  had 
been  restored  to  favor.  Though,  in  the  matter  of  the  invasion, 
he  was  the  leading  spirit,  his  position  among  the  chiefs  was 
quite  inferior  to  that  of  the  Bey.  Both  he  and  Ismael  Pasha 
might  have  claimed  precedence,  as  descendants  of  the  Abbaside 
Caliphs.  But  the  personal  influence  of  Badir  Khan  Bey  raised 
him  far  above  them,  though  he  could  claim  only  a  respectable 
Arabian  ancestry.  In  devotion  to  Islam  he  was  hardly  second  to 
the  Dervishes  and  Moollahs,  with  whom  he  was  proud  to  be 
classed.  They  were  his  privy  counsellors,  and  much  of  the 
severity  of  the  war  must  be  laid  to  their  charge.  They  inveighed 
with  great  vehemence  against  the  Nestorians.  It  was  such  a  work 
of  "  charity  "  to  destroy  those  "  infidels  "  as  would  meet  with 
rich  reward  in  Paradise.  "  Kill  all  the  men,"  they  cried,  "  who 
will  not  receive .  the  Koran.  Take  their  women  and  children. 
Raise  up  a  race  of  believers  from  the  former,  and  train  up  the 
others  in  the  faith  of  the  Prophet,  on  whom  be  blessing  and 
peace ! "  To  increase  hatred  against  them,  they  were  called 
Franks,  and  even  said  to  wear  hats.  The  conical  felt  hat,  worn 
in  Tyary  from  time  immemorial,  was  said  to  have  been  intro- 
duced by  Dr.  Grant,  and  was  quoted,  even  at  the  capital,  in 
extenuation  of  the  war ! 

The  health  of  the  Bey  seemed  almost  forgotten,  in  these  more 
stirring  topics.  It  had  improved  already,  under  the  exciting 
hope  of  a  conquest,  reserved  for  him,  according  to  his  flatterers,- 
as  "  the  favored  of  Allah."  Still  the  Hekirn  must  feel  his  pulse, 
and  give  the  name  and  nature  of  his  disease.     Aware  of  his 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11  IAN  S  .  337 

voluptuous  habits,  he  was  able,  after  gravely  counting  his  pulse, 
to  tell  him  his  feelings,  with  such  precision  and  minuteness  as 
induced  a  very  high  opinion  of  his  skill.  Satisfied,  too,  that  the 
coarse  fare  of  the  Zozan  and  its  bracing  air,  away  from  his  well- 
filled  harem,  —  it  contained  more  than  thirty,  —  would  do  more 
good  than  any  prescription,  he  confined  his  advice  to  such  general 
directions  as,  if  folloioed,  would  have  been  very  beneficial.  But 
a  score  of  the  inmates  of  the  castle  must  be  attended  to,  and  the 
Bey  must  see  all  that  was  done.  A  favorite  servant  was  bled, 
and  no  water  was  at  hand  to  wash  the  arm.  Knowing  he 
could  not  engage  in  their  prayers  unless  it  were  washed,  the 
doctor  asked  whether  he  would  have  it  bound  up  as  it  was,  and 
the  Bey  at  once  replied,  "  We  keep  nobody  here  who  does  not 
pray."     The  answer  was  characteristic  of  the  man. 

Dr.  Grrant  was  seized,  on  the  14th,  with  such  violent  and 
peculiar  pain  in  his  bowels,  he  could  hardly  resist  the  impression 
that  he  was  poisoned.  He  spent  most  of  the  day  l3^ing  in  the  tent 
of  the  Emir,  thinking  of  the  attentions  of  the  kind  friends  that 
make  sickness  almost  a  luxury  at  home.  His  poor  Nestorians, 
too,  so  far  from  their  native  valleys,  and  hearing  so  much  of  war 
and  slaughter,  could  hardly  eat  or  sleep.  They  also  were  ill,  and 
longed  to  leave,  if,  better  than  their  fears,  they  might  escape 
with  life. 

The  doctor  asked  leave  to  return,  but  the  Bey  would  not  hear 
of  his  going.  His  principal  officer  was  sick  at  a  Zozan,  higher 
up  the  mountain,  and  nothing  would  do  but  the  doctor  must  go 
and  see  him  also.  There  was  no  refusing  ;  so  he  assented,  with 
the  best  grace  he  could.  The  Bey  was  to  leave  next  morning 
for  his  own  Zozan,  and  it  was  arranged  that  Dr.  Grant  should 
start  at- the  same  time  for  the  other,  and  return  to  him  in  two  or 
three  days. 

That  evening,  the  horses  and  mules  of  Badir  Khan  Bey  were 
shut  up  in  the  castle-court,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred. 
Tents,  provisions,  carpets  and  the  like,  were  all  got  ready  ;  and, 


838 


A  N  T     A  N  D 


at  dawn,  were  on  the  iiiovc,  with  hi.s  harem  and  a  score  or  two  of 
attendants.  Two  small  cannons  were  also  brought  out,  but  finally 
left,  as  too  heavy  for  transportation  over  the  mountains. 

The  Bey  and  his  personal  attendants  remained  behind  a  few 
hours,  that  all  might  l)e  made  ready  for  his  arrival  at  the  camp. 
Dr.  Grant  took  his  leave  in  a  grove  of  fruit-trees,  between  the 
castles,  where  the  chief  held  his  levees.  He  noticed,  in  passing 
through  the  town,  that,  though  it  contained  six  hundred  houses, 
—  as  many  as  Jezira,  —  yet  they  were  neither  old  nor  ruinous, 
as  there.  The  whole  had  grown  up  under  the  administration  of 
the  Bey.  The  morning  was  delightful,  and  a  gradual  ascent  of 
four  hours  brought  liiui  to  his  patient.  In  his  guide  he  recog- 
nized a  young  Armenian  who  had  entered  Mardin  with  him  four 
3"ears  before.  He  vras  now  a  Moslem,  and,  though  ignorant,  was 
full  of  the  bigotry  so  characteristic  of  those  who  leave  a  purer  for 
a  more  corrupt  religion. 

His  new  patient  was  a  Georgian,  baptized  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  but  sold  in  childhood  to  a  Turk,  who  gave  him  his  free- 
dom on  his  becoming  a  Mussulman.  His  fine  form  and  features 
bore  witness  to  his  lineage,  and  his  education  befitted  a  better 
lot.  Though  not  yet  forty  years  of  age,  he  had  served  no  less 
than  eighteen  Pashas,  and  now  he  lay  among  Kurds,  in  a 
little  hut  of  oak-bushes ;  all,  he  said,  because  it  was  written  in 
his  forehead,  —  and  who  can  alter  the  decree  of  Allah  ?  Poor 
man  !  The  doctor  pitied  him,  and  did  what  he  could  for  his 
relief.  But  his  disease  was  deep-seated,  and  he  was  too  much 
the  slave  of  appetite  and  prejudice  to  improve  the  little  chance 
that  was  left  him. 

On  the  18th,  Dr.  Grant  returned  to  the  camp  of  the  Bey, 
distant  three  hours  north-by-west.  At  the  top  of  the  first  range 
a  beautiful  prospect  of  mountain  and  valley  opened  before  him. 
The  Derguleh  creek  came  down  from  the  north-east,  in  a  valley 
partly  wooded  and  partly  under  cultivation,  and  then  dashed 
through  a  rocky  gap  in  the  mountain  to  the  left.     The  opposite 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOllIANS.  339 

side  of  the  valley  seemed  the  highest,  but  both  retained  more  or 
less  of  snow.  In  front  of  a  cliff,  on  the  left  declivity,  was  a 
green  lawn,  dotted  with  the  black  tents  of  the  Bey.  His  own 
was  noways  distinguished  from  the  rest,  except  in  size,  being 
about  thirty  yards  by  ten. 

If  there  was  a  change  in  his  dwelling,  there  was  no  less  in  his 
personal  appearance.  The  robe  of  Damascus  silk  had  given 
place  to  the  goat's-hair  coat  and  striped  shalwar  of  the  Kurds. 
His  richly-embroidered  turban  was  exchanged  for  another  of  a 
dark  cotton  fabric,  spotted  with  red.  But  the  ivory  handle  of 
the  same  heavy  dagger  protruded  from  his  girdle,  and  the  same 
line  of  kohl  still  stained  his  eyelids.  At  early  dawn  he  sallied 
forth,  with  one  set  of  attendants  to  drive  together  the  game,  and 
another  to  supply  him  with  loaded  guns,  while  for  an  hour  or 
more  he  thinned  the  ranks  of  the  mountain  pheasants.  Coffee 
was  served  on  his  return  ;  then  came  company.  Breakfast  fol- 
lowed, and  business  filled  up  the  forenoon,  till  he  retired  to  his 
harem  at  noon.  Another  levee  in  the  afternoon,  and  dinner 
closed  the  regular  routine  of  the  day.  This  was  but  little  inter- 
rupted by  the  occasional  removal  of  the  camp  higher  up  the 
mountain,  for  better  pasture  and  cooler  air.  It  need  not  be 
added  that  the  hours  of  prayer  were  scrupulously  observed  by 
all  his  people,  as  soon  as  the  sonorous  voice  of  the  Moollah 
repeated  the  adan  (call  to  prayer).  A  class  of  twelve  bright- 
looking  boys  also  took  regular  lessons  in  reading  from  one  of 
their  religious  teachers. 

But  the  preparations  for  invasion  were  becoming  daily  more 
mature.  An  army  was  soon  to  march  against  Diss,  and  Dr.  Grant 
was  anxious  to  get  away,  especially  as  he  could  do  so  little  where 
he  was  of  direct  missionary  work.  The  Bey  recommended  him  to 
return  by  a  nearer  road,  whi,h  he  pointed  out.  As  it  would 
have  enabled  him  to  explore  the  country,  he  felt  inclined  to  take 
it ;  but,  as  it  lay  through  the  country  of  the  Hertush  Kurds, 
his  Nestorians  remonstrated  against  passing  near  that  dreaded 
28 


340  ■  DR.      G  11  A  N  T     A  N  i)     T  U  E 

tribe ;  and,  as  it  might  be  easy  to  murder  hi  Ui  in  that  distant 
district,  and  then  charge  the  crime  to  its  irresponsible  inhabit- 
ants, he  concluded  to  return  by  the  way  lie  came. 

He  accordingly  retraced  his  steps  to  the  abode  of  his  Georgian 
patient,  whence  he  had  a  view  over  half  the  horizon,  such  as  few 
positions  can  command.     The  plain  of  Mesopotamia  extended  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  without  a  tree  to  break  the  uniformity. 
Just  before  him,  south  five  degrees  east,  was  the  bare  summit 
of  Mount  Judi,  the  reputed  resting-place  of  the  Ark.     Arabs, 
Turks,  Kurds,  Christians,  and  even  Jews,  agree  with  Josephus 
and  other  ancient  writers  in  making  this  the  place.     The  Pesh- 
ito,  instead  of  "  Ararat,"  reads,  "  the  mountains  of  Cordu."     So 
also  do  the  targums  of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan.     Assemani  says 
that  a  convent  here  bore  the  name  of  "  the  Ark,"  as  early  as  the 
third  century,  but  it  is  now  supplanted  by  a  Ziyaret  of  the  Mos- 
lems.    The  Ararat  of  Armenia  rests  chiefly  on  Armenian  tradi- 
tion ;  and  Consul  Brant,  of  Erzrum,  thinks  its  inaccessible  char- 
acter is  against  its  claims.     Besides,  the  region  is  too  cold  for 
the  olive ;  and  Mohammedan  writers  state  Judi  to  be  the  true 
location.     The  prospect  also  took  in  one  of  the  rivers  of  Eden ; 
thus,  if  the  preceding  view  be  correct,  bringing  the  two  cradles 
of  the  race  into  close  proximity.     Tv/o  or  three  days'  journey 
beyond  the  Tigris  the  mountains  of  Sinjar  are  seen  rising  out  of 
the  plain.    They  bear  south  from  twenty  degrees  to  forty  degrees 
west ;  and  directly  in  a  line  with  its  eastern  extremity,  on  the 
same  range  with  Mount  Judi,  stood  a  castle,  guarding  the  pass 
by  which  he  was  about  to  return.     Just  below  him  was  another 
Kurdish  Zozan,  where,  in  the  evening,  they  assembled  in  a  circle, 
and  repeated  simultaneously,  "  La  Illaha  il  Ullah  "  (there  is  no 
God  but  God)  ;  at  first  slowly,  but  gradually  increasing  in  force 
and  rapidity,  till  they  were  in  a  perfect  frenzy  by  the  hour 
together. 

On  Friday,  the  23d,  he  set  out  on  his  return.     A  guile  was 
sent  by  the  Bey  and  a  purse  of  gold ;  the  first  he  accepted,  the 


31  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  O  11  I  A  N  i',  .  341 

last  he  declined,  giving  his  reasons  in  a  subsequent  note  of 
thanks  for  his  attentions,  and  expressing  reliance  on  his  promise 
of  future  good-will. 

In  the  uneven  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  he  passed  a 
mound  with  a  black  mineral  protruding  from  its  sides,  and  scat- 
tered in  fragments  in  the  path.  His  guide  said  it  would  burn, 
but  an  unpleasant  odor  prevented  its  use.  Some  specimens  of 
this,  with  many  others,  both  geological  and  botanical,  were  lost 
in  the  subsequent  invasion.  Leaving  Derguleh  an  hour  on  the 
right,  he  struck  directly  for  the  pass  and  castle  mentioned  above. 
A  road,  winding  among  deep  ravines  and  over  partially-wooded 
hills,  led  to  the  summit,  where  he  made  a  meal  of  the  last  of  two 
or  three  sea-biscuit,  brought  by  Mr.  Homes  to  Mardin,  four 
years  before.  The  castle  stood  on  a  rock,  two  hundred  feet  or 
more  above  the  pass,  and,  like  the  rest,  had  recently  been 
repaired.  It  would  contain  many  more  soldiers  than  were 
needed  to  guard  the  zigzag  path  to  the  plain  below.  This  was 
so  steep  that  he  was  obliged  to  walk  till  he  could  hardly 
stand.  But,  once  at  the  bottom,  his  way  led  through  a  lovely 
valley,  watered  by  a  stream  flowing  between  trees  that  overhung 
its  waters. 

In  this  valley  the  village  of  Shakh  lay  environed  by  gardens 
and  vineyards,  and  a  ruined  castle  gave  a  yet  more  peaceful  air 
to  the  scene.  It  was  a  refreshing  contrast  to  the  warlike  camps 
he  had  just  left ;  though  even  here  were  servants  of  the  Bey 
sent,  as  usual,  to  secure  his  half  of  the  harvest  the  villagers  were 
now  threshing  in  the  fields.  The  sun  had  just  set  as  he  arrived, 
and  a  white-turbaned  Moollah,  in  the  absence  of  a  minaret,  was 
repeating  the  call  to  prayer  from  one  of  the  house-tops  (Luke 
12  :  3).  But  all  else  was  soon  forgotten  in  a  circle  of  Nesto- 
rians,  who  welcomed  him  to  their  quarter,  and  gathered  around 
him  on  the  roof,  where  he  spent  the  night.  He  was  a  day  too 
late  to  see  their  bishop,  Mar  Yoosuf,  who  had  gone  that  morning 
to  visit  ten  of  his  villages  to  the  eastward.     They  are  so  few 


342  DR.      GRANT     AND     THE 

and  so  scattered  among  lawless  Kurds,  that,  though  greatly 
in  need  of  the  gospel,  they  are  rather  an  unpromising  field  of 
labor.  Dr.  Grant  left  an  assortment  of  our  Syriac  publications 
for  the  bishop,  and  spent  a  good  part  of  the  night  in  exhorting 
those  around  him  to  search  the  Scriptures  and  stand  fast  in  the 
truth. 

Next  morning,  starting  at  four  o'clock,  he  rode  for  an  hour 
and  a  half  by  the  side  of  the  dashing  torrent  (the  Hazil),  before 
he  reached  the  plain.  At  eleven  o'clock  he  stopped  at  a  Chal- 
dean village,  where  they  furnished  him  a  breakfast  of  rice 
and  milk,  fresh  from  the  buffaloes  just  driven  in  from  pasture. 
The  priest  accepted  the  last  copy  of  the  Epistles  he  had  with 
him,  and  a  Jew  took  the  first  copy  of  the  Hebrew  New  Testa- 
ment he  had  ever  seen.  Large  fields  of  cotton  showed  that  the 
soil  was  fertile,  though  most  of  it  lay  waste,  —  the  winter  pasture 
of  nomad  Kurds.  Three  hours  further  brought  him  to  Zacho, 
where  he  spent  the  Sabbath  among  the  papal  Syrians.  Their 
spacious  church  is  nearly  empty.  The  town  has  shrunk  for 
within  the  ruined  rampart  of  former  days.  Even  the  island  is 
but  half  covered  with  houses;  so  it  was  ruin,  ruin,  everywhere. 
From  this  place  the  pass  of  Shakh  bore  due  north-west. 

Monday  morning  he  started  at  four  o'clock,  and,  pursuing 
a  more  southern  route  than  before,  passed  through  Baderusky, 
nine  hours  and  three-quarters  from  Zacho.  He  had  intended  to 
return  by  Dawudia  ;  but  a  blood-feud  between  his  attendants  and 
a  village  on  that  route  compelled  him  to  alter  his  course  for 
Dey.  That  lay  two  hours  and  a  half  to  the  north-east,  and  there 
was  just  time  to  reach  it ;  but  an  accident  detained  him,  and  so, 
picking  his  way  in  the  dark,  over  the  pathless  crags,  at  the  im- 
minent hazard  of  his  neck,  he  arrived  once  more  among  kind 
friends,  late  and  weary. 

Another  ride  of  twelve  hours  brought  him  to  Ashitha,  June 
27th,  where  he  was  welcomed  more  cordially  than  ever ;  first  by 
scores  of  the  shepherds,  who  came  to  meet  him,  and  then  hy  the 


n  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  >'  S  .  o43 

Patriarch  himself,  who  had  been  waiting  for  his  return.  To  the 
repeated  inquiry  whether  there  was  danger,  his  two  attendants 
uniformly  replied,  "  Even  unto  death."  And  their  own  fear, 
justly  excited  by  what  they  had  witnessed,  soon  communicated 
itself  to  all  around  them. 
28^ 


CHAPTER    XYII. 

COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE     STOBM VISIT   TO    MALEK     BERKHO  —  SLAUGHTER 

IN     DISS RETURN    OF    DR.    GRANT    TO    MOSUL MASSACRE     AT     CHUMBA, 

AT    MAR     SAWA    AND     SERSPIDHO DESTITUTION     AFTER     THE    SLAUGHTER 

MAR    SHIMON  FLEES    TO  MOSUL MISERY    OF    THE   CAPTIVES SUFFER- 
INGS   OF    THE    REMNANT INSURRECTION    IN    ASHITHA    BRINGS    DBSTRUC- 

TION     ON     THE     WHOLE    VALLEY BUTCHERY    AT    LEZAN LA  YARD 'S   AC- 
COUNT   ATROCITIES    OF    ZEINER    BEY FALL    OF    TEHOMA STATISTICS. 

Up  to  this  moment  the  Nestorians  had  done  nothing  to  pre- 
pare for  the  impending  crisis.  Accustomed  to  regard  their 
rugged  mountains  as  a  sure  defence,  many  still  indulged  vain 
dreams  of  safety.  There  were  heart-burnings,  too,  ill  befitting 
their  situation.  The  emir  had  offered  peace  to  the  Nestorians 
on  condition  that  Mar  Shimon  should  lay  aside  all  civil  author- 
ity, and  settle  down  at  Kochannes  as  head  of  the  church,  leav- 
ing politics  to  the  Maleks  and  himself  This  many  of  the  Nes- 
torians desired  should  be  done,  and  accused  Mar  Shimon  of 
being  the  cause  of  all  the  calamities  impending  over  them,  be- 
cause he  would  not  make  peace  on  this  condition.  They  were 
angry,  too,  because  he  widened  the  breach  by  corresponding 
with  the  Pasha  of  Mosul.  The  Patriarch,  in  turn,  upbraided 
them,  because  they  had  not  aided  him  to  compel  the  emir  to 
terms.  This,  and  the  unconciliatory  course  he  pursued  towards 
his  own  people,  particularly  in  Tyary,  so  far  alienated  them  that 
his  authority  was,  in  a  great  measure,  lost.  They  had  already 
defied  his  anathema,  pronounced  against  every  family  that  did 
not  send  a  man  against  the  emir  in  the  spring;  and  now,  such 
was  the  state  of  feeling  that  any  general  plan  of  defence  was 


DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  345 

utterly  impossible.  Each  village  looked  after  its  own  interests, 
and  left  the  others  to  their  fate. 

Moreover,  reports  were  so  various  and  contradictory,  no  one 
knew  when  or  where  to  expect  an  attack.  Even  the  reports 
about  Dr.  Gcant  did  not  agree.  One  made  him  a  prisoner  of 
Badir  Khan  Bey  ;  another  said  he  was  making  terms  for  them  ; 
and  a  third,  that,  failing  in  that,  he  had  gone  to  Mosul  to  com- 
plain to  the  pasha.  Hence  their  eager  interest  to  hear  from  him 
what  and  how  great  the  danger  was.  That  it  was  imminent  was 
now  evident  to  all.  From  the  open  manner  in  which  the  chiefs 
had  talked  with  him,  Dr.  Grant  felt  at  liberty  to  tell  the  Nesto- 
rians  what  they  had  said,  and  make  the  overtures  already  men- 
tioned. His  duty  to  them  would  not  allow  him  to  do  less ;  and, 
as  a  missionary,  he  could  do  no  more.  He  urged  them  to  union 
in  council  and  concert  in  action  ;  but  did  not  advise  what  that 
council  or  action  should  be.     That  he  left  entirely  to  themselves. 

The  question  was  not  left  long  in  suspense.  The  Kurdish 
army  was  already  on  its  way  to  Diss.  The  Patriarch  tried  to 
warn  his  family  of  their  danger.  He  also  sought  to  raise  troops 
to  £0  to  their  relief;  but  in  vain.  As  none  knew  where  the  blow 
would  fall,  each  refused  to  leave  his  own  village  exposed,  in  order 
to  help  a  distant  tribe. 

At  this  juncture  Suleiman  Bey  summoned  the  Nestorians  to 
surrender,  threatening  invasion  if  they  refused.  But  little  con- 
fidence was  put  in  the  offers  of  any  of  the  chiefs.  Even  the 
Patriarch  did  not  believe  Badir  Khan  Bey  would  spare  the  val- 
ley of  Ashitha,  as  he  had  promised.  He  regarded  the  offer 
rather  as  a  plan  to  divide  them.  The  whole  country  seemed 
given  up  to  destruction,  and  waited  in  dread  suspense  for  the 
fatal  blow.  At  length,  after  long  discussion,  it  was  agreed  to 
meet  in  council  at  Mar  Sawa,  and  decide  there  what  course  to 
pursue. 

Dr.  Grant  now  felt  strongly  inclined  to  retire  to  Mosul  till 
the  storm  had  passed  ;  but  the  poor  people  were  so  disheartened 


346  L»  11.      a  II  ANT     AND     T  II  ii 

by  the  proposal,  he  resolved  to  remain  as  long  as  his  presence 
could  be  of  any  service.  Hitherto,  he  had  based  his  resolution  to 
remain  chiefly  on  the  ground  that,  if  the  course  pursued  by  the 
Turkish  government  was  sufficient  to  drive  him  out  of  the  moun- 
tains, it  was  sufficient  to  keep  him  out,  and,  consequently,  the 
mission  was  at  an  end ;  for,  if  he  could  not  go  on  quietly  with 
his  work,  there  was  little  hope  that,  after  leaving,  he  \TOuld  be 
allowed  to  resume  it.     He  wrote  to  Mr.  L.,  July  3d  : 

"  Your  favor,  received  this  morning,  makes  me  half  inclined 
to  go  to  Mosul.  Tell  Mrs.  L.  that  sometimes  I  should  .ike  some 
of  her  good  nursing.  I  am  often  reminded  of  it  when  I  feel  ill, 
and  realize  that  I  am  alone.  But  I  have  a  sort  of  premonition 
that  I  shall  be  an  invalid  as  soon  as  I  leave  this  exciti  ig  scene 
of  toil ;  if,  indeed,  I  am  not  before."  He  then  expresses  an  un- 
willingness to  leave  a  field  where,  even  in  weakness  and  danger, 
he  might  do  some  missionary  work,  for  Mosul,  where  fie  Board 
had  forbidden  us  to  labor ;  but  adds,  "  I  shall  retire  as  soon  as 
I  think  Christian  prudence  requires,  and  not  expose  myself  to 
danger  uncalled."     In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Anderson,  he  say  i : 

"  There  is  no  calculating  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  I  fear 
that  these  unhappy  lands  are  doomed  to  yet  greater  miseries. 
War  and  commotion  is  the  order  of  the  day ;  but  God  reigns  I 
A  glorious  day  is  at  hand.  The  deepest  darkness  precedes  the 
dawn.  Our  faith  may  be  sorely  tried  ;  but  we  will  not  despair. 
Even  in  these  trying  events  God  has  purposes  of  mer3y.  We 
may  not  know  them  now,  but  the  veil  will  be  removed.  But, 
should  our  work  be  arrested,  '  what,'  it  will  be  asked,  '  avails 
the  toil  and  suffering,  the  precious  lives  that  have  been  sacri- 
ficed ? '  I  answer  :  Let  them  but  awaken  the  pi-ayers  of  God's 
children  for  this  dear  people,  and  they  are  not  lost.  Nor  would 
the  price  be  too  great  for  the  persevering  and  agonizing  prayers 
of  the  church,  should  other  lives  be  laid  on  the  same  altar. 
Christians  have  yet  to  feel  that  it  is  not  by  might  or  by  power, 
but  b    the  spirit  of  God,  that  the  world  is  to  be  converi^ed ;  and 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  347 

of  missionaries,  even  by  their  death,  only  awaken  more  prayer 
for  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  will  not  have  toiled  in  vain."  Do  not 
these  -^fords,  in  view  of  events  shortly  to  be  related,  seem  like 
the  utterances  of  an  ancient  prophet  ? 

Just  at  this  time,  Malek  Berkho,  of  Salaberka,  was  taken 
sick,  und  sent  for  him.  He  was  friendly  to  the  emir,  and  hostile 
to  the  Patriarch.  Mar  Shimon  strongly  dissuaded  him  from 
going,  urging  the  motive  the  Malek  would  have  to  purchase  his 
own  safety  by  patting  him  to  death. 

Though  Dr.  Grant  had  a  very  low  opinion  of  Berkho,  yet,  as 
he  hoped  to  be  able  to  reconcile  him  to  the  Patriarch,  he  con- 
cluded to  go.  He  had  trusted  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  emir, 
Heiyo,  and  Badir  Khan  Bey ;  and  now,  small  as  the  prospect 
was  of  doing  good,  he  did  not  shrink  from  a  similar  danger. 

On  Friday,  July  7,  just  ten  days  after  his  return  to  Ashitha, 
he  left  it  for  the  last  time.  He  never  again  saw  the  home  where 
he  had  hoped  to  live  and  die,  and  make  his  grave  among  the 
Nestorians.  At  Lezan,  two  additional  messengers  from  the 
Malek  hastened  his  journey,  and  some  leading  men  in  that  vil- 
lage, who  hoped  he  would  induce  Berkho  to  attend  the  council, 
also  urged  him  to  proceed.  One  of  them  —  Shemasha  Yonan 
—  accompanied  him  to  the  bridge,  helped  to  drive  the  mules 
into  the  water,  and,  when  all  were  safe  over,  parted  from 
him  to  meet  no  more ;  for,  on  Dr.  Grant's  return,  he  had  gone 
to  the  council,  where  few  ever  assembled,  and  in  the  second 
invasion  he  was  slain. 

A  toilsome  ride  of  six  hours  brought  Dr.  Grant  to  the  house 
of  the  Malek.  Both  of  his  mules  were  lamed,  and  their  shoes 
torn  off  among  the  rocks  of  the  road.  As  no  iron  was  to  be  had 
to  replace  the  shoes,  the  Malek  sent  for  a  priest  —  the  only  per- 
son in  the  region  adequate  to  the  task  —  to  transform  his  own 
ploughshare  into  the  articles  required.  This  matter  settled,  the 
doctor  went  to  work  on  his  patient,  lanced  an  ulcer  on  his  neck, 
and  in  other  ways  so  far  relieved  him,  that  he  pressed  his  physi- 


348  I)  R  .     (1  K  A  NT     ANT)     T  U  E 

cian  to  accept  the  only  resioectable  garment  he  possessed,  and 
was  grieved  because  he  would  not  receive  it.  On  Sabbath  the 
doctor  tried  in  vain  to  find  either  rest  or  retirement.  He  was 
scarcely  risen  when  the  sick  began  to  assemble.  To  send  them 
away  would  not  have  been  doing  like  his  Master ;  so  he  endeav- 
ored to  minister  at  once  to  the  body  and  the  soul.  To  many, 
among  the  successive  groups  that  met  him  that  day  in  the  upper 
chamber  of  the  Malek,  it  was  the  last  opportunity  of  hearing  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Other  tidings  already  engrossed  their 
thoughts;  and  their  hearts  failed  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking 
after  those  things  that  were  coming  upon  them.  A  son  of  the 
emir  was  posted,  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  only  one  day  distant, 
on  the  spot  where  his  father  had  encamped  the  year  before, 
seemingly  to  prevent  cooperation  between  the  tribes,  and  over- 
awe the  weaker  till  the  stronger  were  subdued.  Peace,  too,  was 
oflfered  to  the  smaller  tribes  who  would  pay  tribute. 

Though  this  ofi'er  was  not  extended  to  Tyary,  the  Malek 
declared  that  he  could  make  terms  for  that  tribe  also,  if  Mar 
Shimon  would  only  come ;  and  urged  the  doctor  so  strongly  to 
send  for  him,  that  he  began  to  fear  all  was  not  right.  He 
learned,  too,  that  the  Malek  had  been  told  by  the  Kurds  that 
injury  to  his  guest  was  a  favor  to  them ;  and  it  was  his  interest 
to  conciliate  the  lawless  clans  close  by.  In  view  of  these  things, 
Dr.  Grant  could  not  but  think  of  the  warnings  of  Mar  Shimon. 
But  all  else  was  soon  forgotten  in  the  sad  intelligence  that  the 
war  had  actually  begun.  The  news  at  first  was  disbelieved,  but 
too  truly  confirmed,  as  messenger  after  messenger  arriv^ed  from 
the  scene  of  action.  The  tribe  of  Diss,  the  home  of  the  Patri- 
archal family,  was  laid  waste.  The  blood  of  nearly  eight  tiun- 
dred,  of  both  sexes,  had  stained  her  vallej^s,  and  mingled  with 
her  mountain  torrents.  The  leading  men  had  been  assassinated 
at  a  council  to  which  they  were  invited  to  settle  terms  of  peace, 
and  then  the  whole  tribe  was  overwhelmed.  Neither  sex  nor 
pge  was   spared.      The  survivors  were   hurried    into  slavery, 


JI  0  U  N  T  A  IN     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  349 

except  a  small  band,  that  still  defended  a  mountain  fastness 
against  the  united  hordes  of  Hakkary  and  Buhtan.  Says  Dr. 
Grant :  "  The  aged  mother  of  Mar  Shimon,  whose  kind  care  for 
the  pilgrim  missionary  comes  up  before  me  as  a  vision  of  yester- 
day, was  slain,  and  her  mangled  body  dragged  to  the  river,  her 
murderers  exclaiming,  as  they  threw  it  in,  '  Gro,  carry  the  news 
to  your  accursed  son  !  ' 

"  His  brother  Zadok,  too,  who  was  so  long  the  companion  of 
my  weary  travels,  —  he,  too,  is  slain ;  and,  with  him,  his  bright 
little  boy,  the  expected  successor  of  the  Patriarch.  He  was  a 
child  of  uncommon  promise ;  and  I  can  only  think  of  his  ruddy 
face  as  clothed  in  smiles.  But  his  fair  features  touched  no  chord 
of  pity  in  those  savage  hearts."  Their  mangled  bodies  were  left 
unburied  on  the  mountain  side,  with  hundreds  of  others,  that 
rendered  the  fatal  spot  too  offensive  to  be  approached  by  the 
survivors.  The  valuable  library  of  the  Patriarch,  greatly  dimin- 
ished by  previous  invasions,  was  now  destroyed.  His  three 
brothers  and  only  sister  were  hurried  into  captivity.  Weeping 
over  the  slain,  yet  unburied,  weighed  down  with  sad  fore- 
boding, they  traversed  the  mountains  in  weariness  and  want. 
Of  the  household  of  the  Malek  of  Diss,  numbering  about  forty 
souls,  but  one  escaped  to  tell  the  tale.  And  yet  this  was  but 
the  opening  scene  in  the  tragedy.  The  storm  that  had  burst 
with  such  fury  on  one  place  soon  darkened  the  whole  heavens. 

Dr.  Grant,  that  night,  tried  in  vain  to  sleep ;  and  morning 
brought  a  report  of  yet  nearer  dangers.  Badir  Khan  Bey  was 
on  his  way  to  attack  Tyary  on  the  north-west,  and  the  victorious 
troops  hastened  from  Diss  to  meet  him.  On  the  south-east  and 
south  were  hostile  Kurds  ;  and,  to  complete  the  circle,  a  Turkish 
army  approached  from  the  south-west.  Thus  were  the  Nesto- 
rians  hopelessly  hemmed  in  on  every  side ;  and  the  missionary, 
who  had  remained  at  his  post  till  the  very  last  moment,  —  feeble 
in  body,  but  strong  in  faith,  unmoved  by  danger  while  he  could 
benefit  the  people  whom  he  loved,  —  now  reluctantly  turned 


350  DR.     GRANT     AND     TUE 

away.  Had  he  known  that  this  was  his  hist  visit  to  the  moun- 
tains, he  could  not  have  stayed  longer,  or  left  more  reluctantly. 
Of  his  many  afflictions,  perhaps  this  was  the  sorest.  His  check- 
ered life  could  furnish  no  days  so  dark  as  these.  Long  after, 
walking  in  the  twilight  on  our  roof  at  Mosul,  with  our  premises 
full  of  the  homeless  fugitives,  he  remarked  that  when  he  turned 
to  leave  the  mountains  his  heart  was  crushed.  All  that  he 
heard  and  suffered  afterward  was  nothing  to  the  agony  he  then 
endured.  Broken-hearted  as  he  was,  —  for  he  suffered  as  though 
he  witnessed  the  destruction  of  his  own  family,  —  there  was  not 
a  moment  to  lose,  and  he  set  out  at  once  for  Lezan.  On  the  way 
he  met  a  messenger  from  Mr.  L.,  urging  his  immediate  return ; 
telling  him  that  all  his  friends  in  Mosul,  natives  as  well  as  others, 
were  anxious  for  his  safety.  At  Lezan  the  sad  tidings  were 
well  known,  but,  according  to  oriental  usage,  carefully  con- 
cealed from  the  Patriarch.  He  was  still  at  Ashitha,  vainly 
striving  to  send  succor  to  those  forever  beyond  its  reach.  Want 
of  time  forbade  Dr.  Grant  to  go  to  meet  him.  He  learned  both 
his  own  bereavement  and  the  departure  of  his  friend  from  the 
messenger  of  the  latter,  and  was  utterly  overwhelmed;  —  the 
more  so,  as  he  regarded  that  departure  as  the  harbinger  of  yet 
greater  evils. 

Dr.  Grrant  left  by  the  same  road  by  which  he  first  entered  the 
mountains.  The  others  were  already  occupied  by  the  enemy  ; 
and,  under  God,  it  was  only  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  coun- 
try that  enabled  him  to  escape.  He  spent  the  night  with  the 
aged  Bishop  of  Duree.  He  was  the  first  to  welcome  him  in 
1839,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  from  that  day  to  this  they 
had  never  met,  till  now  he  was  the  last  to  bid  him  farewell. 
The  old  man  welcomed  him  to  his  house.  The  same  shady  wal- 
nut and  pistachia  terebinthus  grew  before  the  door.  The  same 
rill  leaped  down  from  the  rocks  above.  It  was  the  hour  of 
evening  prayer ;  and,  while  one  repaired  to  the  church  under 
the  cliff,  bending  over  his  crooked  staff,  and  carrying  the  accus- 


\lS: 


111   •Sli*;'r 


m 


T    I 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  353 

tomed  censer,  the  other  retired  among  the  rocks,  that,  alone,  after 
the  tumults  of  the  day,  he  might  commend  a  suffering  people  to 
his  God. 

A  mountain-ridge  was  all  that  separated  Am.  from  the  army 
of  the  pasha.  He  remembered  too  well  the  orders  once  given 
by  that  pasha  for  his  head  to  linger  near  those  ruffian  mercena- 
ries till  the  morning.  So  at  midnight  he  departed ;  and,  pass- 
ing through  Beita  Noora  (house  of  fire),  roused  some  Jews  from 
their  sleep  to  aid  his  flight.  The  only  other  village  on  the  road 
was  deserted.  He  met  only  a  few  Nestorians,  who  preferred 
perilling  their  lives,  to  secure  their  scanty  crops,  rather  than 
perish  of  starvation,  till  he  came  in  sight  of  Amadia,  whence 
he  reached  Mosul  on  Saturday,  July  15. 

The  plate  represents  the  city  as  it  appeared  to  him  approach- 
ing from  the  ruins  of  ancient  Nineveh. 

Meanwhile  the  Kurds,  having  destroyed  Diss,  and  sent  the 
captives  into  Buhtan,  united  with  the  army  under  Badir  Khan 
Bey  and  Khan  Mahmud.  They  then  pushed  on,  by  an  unex- 
pected joute,  to  Chumba.  Here  most  of  the  chief  men  fell  in 
battle,  if  battle  it  may  be  called,  where  a  handful  of  men  fought 
against  such  overwhelming  odds.  The  Malek,  on  whom  Mar 
Shimon  chiefly  relied,  was  among  the  first  to  fall.  His  death  is 
thus  described  by  Layard,  i.  187  : 

"  After  performing  prodigies  of  valor,  and  heading  his  people 
in  their  defence  of  the  pass  which  led  into  the  upper  districts, 
Malek  Ismael,  his  thigh  broken  by  a  musket-ball,  was  carried  by 
a  few  followers  to  a  cavern  in  a  secluded  ravine ;  where  he  might 
have  escaped  the  search  of  his  enemies,  had  not  a  woman,  to 
save  her  life,  betrayed  his  retreat.  He  was  dragged  down  the 
mountain  with  savage  exultation,  and  brought  before  Badir 
Khan  Bey.  Here  he  fell  upon  the  ground.  '  Wherefore  does 
the  Infidel  sit  before  me  ? '  exclaimed  the  ferocious  chief,  who 
had  seen  his  broken  limb  ;  '  and  what  dog  is  this  that  has  dared 
to  shed  the  blood  of  true  believers  ? '  — '  0,  Mir,'  replied  Malek 
29 


854  I^  K  .     U  11  A  N  T     AND     T  H  E 

Ismael,  still  undaunted,  and  partly  raising  himself,  '  this  arm 
has  taken  the  lives  of  nearly  twenty  Kurds;  and,  had  God 
spared  me,  as  many  more  would  have  fallen  by  it ! '  Badir 
Khan  Bey  rose,  and  walked  to  the  Zal  making  a  sign  to  his 
attendants  that  they  should  bring  the  Malek  to  him.  By  his 
directions  they  held  the  Christian  chief  over  the  river,  and, 
severing  his  head  from  his  body  with  a  dagger,  cast  them  into 
the  stream." 

His  wife  was  taken  captive,  with  many  others,  while  a  few^ 
escaped  across  the  Zab,  and  destroyed  the  bridge  to  prevent 
pursuit. 

The  Kurdish  host  now  followed  down  the  western  bank  of  the 
Zab,  and  crossed  it  at  the  venerable  church  of  Mar  Sawa.  This 
they  tried  to  demolish,  burning  what  they  could,  and  even 
destroying  some  of  the  massive  masonry  by  gunpowder  ;  but  this 
was  so  difficult  they  soon  desisted.  It  had  two  arched  apart- 
ments, each  ten  feet  by  fifty.  Only  the  northern  of  these  was 
injured  at  its  ends,  and  might  readily  be  repaired,  as  it  doubt- 
less has  been.  This  beautiful  place  now  formed  the  head-quar- 
ters of  Badir  Khan  Bey,  as  it  had  been  the  favorite  resort  of  the 
Nestorians.  Troops  were  sent  out  thence  in  every  direction,  to 
destroy  the  surrounding  villages.  The  war  was  little  more  now 
than  a  succession  of  massacres.  The  Kurds  passed  from  place 
to  place,  slaying  the  people  and  burning  the  houses  at  their 
leisure,  generally  without  even  the  shadow  of  resistance.  The 
panic-struck  Nestorians  seemed  alike  incapable  of  flight  or 
defence,  and  awaited  in  agonizing  suspense  their  turn  to  suffer. 
One  detachment  pushed  on  to  Serspidho ;  most  of  the  men  fled 
at  their  approach,  leaving  their  wives  and  children  to  a  horrid 
butchery.  But  forty  brave  men,  in  a  small  castle  to  the  south 
of  the  village,  like  the  band  of  Leonidas,  stemmed  tbo  tide  of 
destruction,  till  only  four  of  the  forty  remained  alive.  The  vil- 
lage was  then  levelled  with   the  ground,  and  one  hun  Ired  and 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  355 

sixty  persons  slain.  Twenty  deacons  were  reduced  to  five ;  and 
out  of  three  priests  only  one  survived. 

I  cannot  forbear  quoting  here  the  description  of  our  welcome 
to  this  village,  in  1844,  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Smith,  it  throws 
so  much  light  on  those  traits  in  this  people  that  interested  the 
heart  of  Dr.  Grant.  He  says  :  "  Our  host  welcomed  us  to  the 
flat  roof  of  his  house,  and  soon  twenty  men  and  as  many  women 
and  children  collected  round,  to  wish  us  peace.  I  shall  never 
forget,  nor  can  I  ever  express,  the  feelings  of  that  hour.  Accus- 
tomed, ever  since  my  arrival  in  the  East,  to  be  viewed  with 
suspicion  wherever  I  went,  it  was  delightful,  on  the  long- 
looked-for  scene  of  my  future  labors,  to  find  the  people  so 
kindly  disposed  toward  strangers  from  a  strange  land,  about 
whom  they  had  only  heard,  through  Dr.  Grant,  that  they  wished 
io  devote  themselves  to  their  instruction.  I  felt  that  no  light 
reason  would  induce  me  to  leave  so  interesting  a  field ;  and  I  did 
not  wonder  Dr.  Grant  had  been  so  zealous  in  urging  the  Board 
to  maintain  their  ground." 

But,  to  return  to  the  war.  Other  parties  perpetrated  similar 
atrocities  in  other  directions ;  and  when  Badir  Khan  Bey  left 
the  hitherto  delightful  valley  of  Mar  Sawa,  he  left  it  scathed  and 
desolate.  Horses  were  stabled  in  this  favorite  church.^  The 
shady  bower  near  it  was  wantonly  destroyed.  The  noble  trees 
around  it  were  girdled  or  cut  down.  The  houses  and  mills  in 
the  vicinity  were  demolished,  and  such  of  their  inmates  as  could 
not  escape  were  slain. 

An  acre  of  arable  land,  a  few  sheep  and  goats,  and  rarely  a 
cow,  was  a  fair  inventory  of  the  resources  of  a  mountaineer  before 
the  w^ar.  With  these  they  could  barely  live ;  and  many  were 
forced  even  then  to  resort  to   more  favored  regions,  to  eke  out 

*  Named  after  one  of  twenty-eight  monks,  who  came  with  Mar  Ogin 
(Eugenius)  from  Egypt  in  the  fourth  century,  and  introduced  into 
the  East  the  asceticism  which  was  then  flourishing,  in  all  its  glory,  in  the 
Libyan  desert,  under  the  celebrated  St.  Anthony. 


356  DK.     GRANT     AND     THE 

the  living  they  could  not  obtain  at  home.  Now  their  flocks 
were  taken  away,  their  personal  property  plundered,  their  houses 
and  crops  destroyed,  and  even  the  trees,  that  might  have  helped 
to  construct  new  dwellings,  were  cut  down  and  chopped  into 
lengths  that  rendered  them  useless  for  the  purpose  ;  so  that,  in 
such  an  inhospitable  country,  one  was  at  a  loss  whether  to 
moui-n  more  for  the  living  or  the  dead  ;  for,  stripped  as  they  were, 
how  could  they  remain  in  the  mountains,  and  survive  the  winter  ? 

While  the  rest  of  Tyary  was  thus  desolate,  the  valley  of  Ash- 
itha  was  untouched,  according  to  the  promise  made  to  Dr.  Grant. 
The  Nestorians  had  thought  that  valley  would  be  the  first  point 
of  attack.  But,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  the  rest  of  the  dis- 
trict was  laid  waste,  and  that  was  spared,  as  if  on  purpose  to 
disprove  the  calunmy  that  the  mission-house  had  been  the  occa- 
sion of  the  invasion.  Even  the  Patriarch  was  constrained  to 
acknowledge  that  Badir  Khan  Bey  had  kept  his  word.  He  did 
more ;  he  even  restored  to  Dr.  Grant  some  articles  of  personal 
property  that  fell  in  his  way ;  and  Mar  Shimon  attributed  the 
safety  of  the  whole  valley  to  the  Christian  missionary,  whose 
virtues  had  compelled  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the  Kurds 
themselves.  Yet,  even  in  the  valley  of  Ashitha,  the  Nesto- 
rians were  partially  disarmed.  Many  had  fled,  and  a  heavy 
ti'ibute  was  assessed  on  those  that  remained. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  Mar  Shimon,  whom  we  left  be- 
moaning his  losses  in  Ashitha.  Badir  Khan  Bey  sent  his  brother 
Benjamin  from  Chumba,  to  summon  him  to  surrender  imme- 
diately, under  the  penalty  of  being  slain  wherever  found.  Instead 
of  that,  with  this  brother.  Kasha  Auraham,  and  others,  —  find- 
ing it  impossible  to  escape  into  Persia,  —  he  fled  at  once  to  Mosul, 
where  he  arrived  a  fortnight  after  Dr.  Grant.  As  soon  as  the 
latter  heard  of  his  approach,  he  hastened  to  meet  him,  beyond  the 
ruins  of  Nineveh.  But  how  changed  from  the  mountain  chief 
he  had  left  a  ^ew  days  before !  It  seemed  as  if  years  had  passed, 
instead  of  days,  and  left  on  his  features  the  traces  of  protracted 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  ,  357 

suffering.  Says  Dr.  Grant :  "  He  said  he  had  no  definite  plans, 
and  at  once  accepted  my  invitation  to  make  our  house  his  home, 
at  least  till  he  should  see  the  pasha.  But  presently  we  met 
Messrs.  Rassam  and  Badger ;  and  the  former  told  me,  '  It  was 
arranged  between  him  and  the  pasha  that  the  Patriarch  should 
be  his  guest.  Moreover,  he  had  instructions  from  the  English 
government  concerning  him,  and  it  was  important  he  should  be 
under  the  protection  of  the  British  flag.'  "  Dr.  Grant  was  sorry 
not  to  be  able  to  show  the  same  kindness  to  him,  in  his  distress, 
that  he  had  so  often  received  from  him  in  the  mountains.  But, 
it  the  same  time,  he  did  not  wish  to  stand  in  the  way  of  any  po- 
litical help  the  vice-consul  might  afford  him.  Nor  did  he  wish  to 
incur  the  blame  of  the  failure  of  their  plans.  He  rejoiced,  too, 
in  this  opportunity  of  corroborating  his  oft-repeated  declaration, 
that  he  had  no  political  influence.  Their  plan  of  making  Mar 
Shimon,  the  civil  head  of  the  Mountain  Nestorians,  re.sponsible 
directly  to  the  Porte,  he  foresaw  would  not  be  easily  carried 
out.  The  Porte  would  not  be  likely  to  adopt  it ;  and,  if  it  did, 
the  Kurds  would  not  accede  to  it,  without  such  coercion  as  he 
knew  would  not  be  employed. 

The  account  Mar  Shimon  gave  of  the  distress  in  the  mountains 
was  truly  affecting ;  and  the  Patriarch  and  the  missionary  often 
mingled  their  tears  over  the  fate  of  their  dearest  friends.  The  cap- 
tives —  consisting  mostly  of  women  and  children  —  were  many 
of  them  doomed  to  the  alternative  of  the  Koran  or  the  sword. 
Women  neither  young  nor  handsome  were  butchered  on  the  spot. 
Those  too  young  to  travel  were  killed,  to  save  their  captors  trouble. 
Infants  were  taken  from  their  mothers'  arms  and  dashed  against 
the  rocks,  when  carrying  them  prevented  their  keeping  up  with 
the  rest.  In  1844,  we  found  the  skeleton  of  a  child,  bleaching 
by  the  side  of  a  spring  on  the  mountain  behind  Ashitha,  slain 
there,  or  left  to  perish,  because  its  weary  limbs  could  go  no  fur- 
ther. A  party  of  these  captives,  crossing  the  Zab,  threw  them- 
fc^elves  from  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  and  perished,  rather  than 
29^ 


358  Bli-     flllArT     AND     THE 

endure  the  fate  before  them.  Others  leaped  into  the  Tigris  at 
Jezira,  preferring  death  to  such  a  bondage.  Both  the  French 
and  English  consuls  sought  to  procure  their  release.  But  the 
pasha  pretended  that  Badir  Khan  Bej  had  acted  under  orders 
from  Erzrum,  and  so  evaded  the  matter,  though  his  own  army, 
on  the  southern  border  of  Tyary,  cooperated  with  Badir  Khan 
Bey,  from  whom  he  had  received  some  two  thousand  sheep,  as 
his  share  of  the  spoils,  and  he  himself  had  forcibly  taken  from 
the  Nestorians  all  the  lands  they  possessed  in  Berwer. 

If  the  captives  were  to  be  pitied,  those  who  remained  in  the 
mountains  fared  but  little  better.  After  the  slaughter,  the  re- 
maining tribes  sent  in  their  submission,  and  were  spared,  for  the 
sake  of  the  revenue  they  might  afford  the  conquerors.  They 
were  subject  to  unmeasured  oppression.  The  half  of  their 
crops,  next  season,  was  claimed  by  the  Kurds;  and  their  lives 
were  in  constant  danger  from  those  who  deemed  it  an  act  of 
charity  to  kill  a  Christian  dog.  The  day  before  Dr.  Smith  and 
Mr.  L.  reached  Ashitha,  in  August,  1844,  one  man  was  killed  in 
Lezan,  by  Kurds  from  Berwer.  A  few  days  after,  another  was 
killed,  and  a  third  wounded.  Fifty  sheep  were  taken  from 
Matha  'd  Kasra,  by  Kurds  from  Chull ;  and,  two  days  before 
we  left  the  mountains,  three  hundred  men  were  sent  by  the  emir 
to  take  a  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  from  Berawola,  —  the  only 
flock  of  any  size  remaining  "in  Tyary.  This  involved  more  than 
the  mere  loss  of  property.  When  we  descended  to  the  village, 
women  were  wailing  for  the  dead,  and  men  were  beating  their 
breasts.  The  troop  had  attacked  them  in  the  night,  killed 
the  shepherd,  and  were  driving  off  the  whole  flock,  when  the 
villagers  rushed  to  the  rescue.  Two  more  of  their  number  were 
slain  in  the  melee,  and  three  of  the  invaders  were  left  stark  and 
stiff  on  the  hill-side.  The  rest  fled,  leaving  their  booty  and 
bearing  off  their  bleeding  comrades.  Never  can  we  forget  the 
impression  made  by  those  three  bodies  lying  naked  and  unburied 
whtre  they  fell.     One  was  an  old   man,  his  gray  beard   clotted 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOR  lANS.  359 

witi.  gore,  his  glaring  eye-balls  vainly  turned  to  heaven,  and  his 
bod/  covered  with  ghastly  wounds.  Another  was  a  beardless 
youth,  and  a  large  gunshot  wound  in  his  breast  showed  too 
plainly  how  he  fell.  The  third  had  been  shot,  and  then  de- 
spatched by  repeated  stabs  of  their  daggers.  The  sight  gave  us 
a  more  vivid  impression  of  the  horrors  of  war  than  the  descrip- 
tions of  all  the  battles  we  had  ever  read. 

It  was  near  sunset.  The  wind  swept  moaning  by,  as  we  rode 
along  the  bleak  ridge  of  the  mountain.  The  neighboring  vil- 
lages were  deserted.  In  one  house  the  cradle  was  left,  and  a 
dog,  the  only  living  thing  remaining,  howled  at  us  as  we  passed. 
In  the  valley  below,  they  had  killed  a  priest,  as  he  lay  on  a  sick 
bed,  unable  to  escape  with  the  rest.  Parties  met  us  at  every 
turn  fleeing,  and  yet  not  knowing  where  to  flee  for  safety. 
After  nine  o'clock,  we  passed  through  the  midst  of  families 
sleeping  in  the  road  on  the  bare  rocks.  From  the  bottom  of  the 
glen,  in  the  cloudy  moonlight,  we  could  see  crowds  creeping 
along  the  ledges  high  above  us,  and  so  it  continued  till  we 
stopped  at  midnight.  This  was  a  sad  picture  of  the  perils  of 
the  sufi"ering  remnant ;  but  was  only  too  true  a  representaiion 
of  their  condition  ever  since  the  v/ar.  It  seemed  as  if,  without 
leaders,  v/ithout  union,  and  without  arms,  they  were  doomed  to 
utter  extermination. 

But,  amid  all  their  sufferings,  it  was  interesting  to  see  their 
strong  attachment  to  their  churches  and  Sacred  books.  One, 
who  had  lost  a  greater  amount  than  most  possessed,  gi'ieved  more 
for  the  destruction  of  the  village  church  than  for  the  utter  deso- 
lation round  about  it.  Some  of  their  books  were  concealed,  and 
more  would  have  been,  but  that  they  feared  to  bury  them,  lest 
dampness  should  prove  as  injurious  as  the  Kurds. 

Though  Badir  Khan  Bey  scrupulously  kept  his  promise  to 
Dr.  Grant,  yet  Zeiner  Bey,  whom  he  left  Governor  of  Tyary, 
with  four  hundred  soldiers  to  support  him,  took  possession  of  the 
mission-house.     But  the  unpretending  structure  wns  altogether 


360 


DR.     GRANT      A  N  i)      THE 


unsuited  to  his  piiri^ose.  The  Kurdish  robber  dared  not  trust 
himself  in  such  a  dwelling  as  had  been  built  for  men  of  peace. 
The  large  windows  were  built  up,  and  in  their  stead  loop-holes 
threatened  death  to  the  assailant.  Lime  was  substituted  for 
mud.  The  walls  were  raised  an  additional  story,  and  round 
towers  of  still  more  substantial  structure  were  erected  at  the 
corners.  Everything  savored  as  much  of  war  and  force,  as 
before  of  peace  and  love. 

The  ferocious  Zeiner  Bey,  irritated  by  the  attack  of  Mar  Shi- 
mon in  the  spring,  Avith  troops  from  this  village,  was  not 
very  gentle  in  his  government.  The  Nestorians  bore  this  very 
patiently,  till,  in  October,  they  made  an  ill-judged  attack  on  the 
castle.  If  their  leaders  had  been  worthy  of  the  courage  of  the 
troops,  the  garrison  had  been  utterly  destro3'ed.  But  they 
were  led  by  Shemasha  (deacon)  Hinno,  of  Lezan,  who  had  gone 
over  to  Badir  Khan  Bey  before  the  invasion,  and  Kasha  Jindo, 
of  Salaberka,  who  had  sided  with  the  emir.  The  Nestorians  from 
all  quarters  joined  the  besiegers ;  and,  as  Zeiner  Bey  was  en- 
tirely unprepared  for  a  siege,  his  men  were  soon  without  food  or 
water.  In  this  strait,  he  called  Shemasha  Hinno  to  the  door, 
and  told  him  he  could  hold  out  no  longer  ;  but,  as  there  was  much 
property  in  the  castle,  and  it  was  a  pity  it  should  be  dispersed 
among  the  rabble,  he  proposed  to  deliver  it  all  to  him,  on 
condition  that  his  men  were  allowed  to  depart  unmolested.  The 
credulous  deacon  swallowed  the  bait,  and  was  soon  hoisted  up  to 
the  flat  roof  to  receive  the  booty.  But,  no  sooner  had  he  reached 
it  than  Zeiner  Bey  demanded  food  and  v>'ater  or  his  life,  and  the 
greedy  coward  at  once  acceded  to  the  demand.  His  men  blindly 
obeyed  his  orders,  and  the  Krirds  had  a  plentiful  supply  of  all 
they  wanted.  The  conflict  vras  now  renewed  with  greater  fury. 
But  a  detachment  sent  by  Badir  Khan  Bey  to  the  relief  of  the 
garrison  soon  arrived ;  and  the  xSTestorians,  attacked  on  both 
■^ides,  were  routed  with  great  slaughter.     No  quarter  was  given. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  361 

Shemaslia  Hinno  was  impaled  within  the  castle,  and  Kasha 
Jindo  was  put  to  death  by  the  emir  in  Julamerk. 

When  t  le  Nestorians  fled,  they  set  fire  to  our  chapel,  which 
was  outsid3  the  castle,  vainly  hoping  to  involve  their  enemies  in 
the  conflagration  ;  and,  to  avoid  a  similar  occurrence,  Zeiner 
Bey  destroyed  all  the  outbuildings,  leaving  the  castle  entirely 
alone.  A  large  reservoir  was  also  excavated  within  its  walls, 
and  well  stocked  with  snow  and  water.  The  soldiers  now  swept 
through  the  valley  as  far  as  the  Zab,  sparing  neither  age  nor 
sex.  Out  of  three  hundred  houses  in  Ashitha,  only  four  were 
left  unburned.  Learning  from  the  fugitives  the  fate  that  awaited 
them,  the  inhabitants  of  Minyanish  and  Lezan  fled  to  a  cave 
high  up  in  the  mountain,  to  the  north  of  the  valley.  Women 
and  children,  as  well  as  men,  climbed  to  a  place  almost  inacces- 
sible ;  "and  the  Kurds,  unable  to  follow,  cut  off  all  supplies.  In 
three  days  their  water  and  provisions  failed.  The  weather  was 
hot,  and  they  offered  to  capitulate.  Zeiner  Bey  swore  on  the 
Koran  to  spare  their  lives,  on  condition  they  surrendered  their 
arms.  But,  no  sooner  was  this  done,  than  the  Kurds  com- 
menced an  indiscriminate  slaughter,  till,  tired  of  butchering,  and 
knee-deep  in  blood  and  mangled  carcasses,  they  forced  the  rest, 
at  the  point  of  the  dagger,  to  leap  down  the  precipice  on  the 
rocks  below.  Out  of,  according  to  some,  fourteen  hundred 
souls,  but  at  least  as  many  as  a  thousand,  not  one  —  or,  follow- 
ing another  report,  only  one  —  escaped.  Mr.  Layard  visited 
the  spot  in  1846,  and  it  is  thus  described  by  his  gi'aphic  pen : 

"  Emerging  from  the  gardens,  we  found  ourselves  at  the  foot 
of  an  almost  perp  ndicular  detritus  of  loose  stones,  terminated, 
about  one  thousand  feet  above  us,  by  a  wall  of  lofty  rocks.  Up 
this  ascent  we  toiled  for  above  an  hour  ;  sometimes  clinging  to 
small  shrubs,  whose  roots  scarcely  reached  the  scanty  soil  below ; 
at  others,  crawling  on  our  hands  and  knees ;  crossing  the  gul- 
leys  to  secure  a  footing,  or  carried  down  by  the  stones  which  we 
put  in  motion  as  we  advanced.     We  soon  saw  evidences  of  the 


o62  1)  K  .     GRANT     AND     THE 

slaughter.  At  first,  a  solitary  skull  rolling  down  with  the  rub- 
bish ;  then  heaps  of  blanched  bones ;  further  up,  fragments  of 
rotting  garments.  As  we  advanced,  these  remains  became  more 
frequent,  —  skeletons,  almost  entire,  still  hung  to  the  dwarf 
shrubs.  I  was  soon  comjDelled  to  renounce  an  attempt  to  count 
them.  As  we  approached  the  wall  of  rock,  the  declivity  became 
covered  with  bones,  mingled  with  the  long  platted  tresses  of  the 
women,  shreds  of  discolored  linen,  and  well-worn  shoes.  There 
were  skulls  of  all  ages,  from  the  child  unborn  to  the  toothless 
old  man.  We  could  not  avoid  treading  on  the  bones  as  we  ad- 
vanced, and  rolling  them  with  the  loose  stones  into  the  valley 
below.  *  This  is  nothing,'  exclaimed  my  guide,  who  observed 
me  gazing  with  wonder  on  these  miserable  heaps ;  '  they  are  but 
the  remains  of  those  who  were  thrown  from  above,  or  sought  to 
escape  the  sword  by  jumping  from  the  rock.  Follow  me ! '  He 
sprang  upon  a  ledge  running  along  the  precipice  that  rose  before 
us,  and  clambered  along  the  face  of  the  mountain  overhanging 
the  Zab,  now  scarcely  visible  at  our  feet.  I  followed  him  as 
well  as  I  was  able  to  some  distance;  but,  when  the  ledge  became 
scarcely  broader  than  my  hand,  and  frequently  disappeared  for 
three  or  four  feet  altogether,  I  could  no  longer  advance.  I  was 
still  suffering  severely  from  the  kick  received  in  my  leg  four 
days  before,  and  was  compelled  to  return,  after  catching  a 
glimpse  of  an  open  recess  or  platform  covered  with  human 
remains." 

This  done,  Zeiner  Bey  had  now  free  opportunity  for  revenge  ; 
and  he  inflicted  it  without  mercy.  The  story  of  his  cruelties  will 
never  perish  from  the  legends  of  the  Nestorians.  He  stripped 
the  people  of  everything,  torturing,  and  even  slaying,  those  who 
resisted.  His  men  ransacked  the  mountains  for  buried  provi- 
sions, and  many  a  family  lost  the  last  handful  of  millet  they  had 
secreted  in  pits  and  caves. 

In  1814  we  saw  those  who  had  lost  the  use  of  their  arms  by 
the  inhuman  twistinor  of  the  cords  that  bound  them  behind  their 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  O  R 1  A  N  S  .  368 

backs.  Some  lost  the  use  of  their  legs  by  similar  cruelties. 
Others  had  their  breasts  burned  with  red-hot  irons,  or  were 
suspended  by  hooks  thrust  into  the  muscles  of  their  arms  and 
legs,  till  they  revealed  every  hoard  they  knew  of,  and  even  after 
there  was  no  more  to  reveal. 

Other  modes  of  torture  might  be  mentioned,  but  they  are  too 
horrid  for  recital.  These  may  suffice  to  show  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  Nestorians  were  by  no  means  so  light  as  some  seem  to  sup- 
pose. Could  Tamerlane  have  done  worse,  when  he  drove  their  an- 
cestors to  these  very  strongholds,  now  stained  with  the  blood  of 
their  children  ?  These  atrocities  called  forth  such  a  protest  from 
the  European  political  agents,  that  Zeiner  Bey  was  recalled,  and 
his  brother  sent  in  his  room,  but  without  any  change  for  the 
better.  Indeed,  he  proved  himself  every  way  vrorthy  of  such  a 
brother. 

Many  of  the" Nestorians  fled  to  Berwer,  only  to  be  betrayed 
to  the  invaders,  or  slain  in  revenge  for  previous  injuries.  This 
was  the  last  great  slaughter  during  the  life  of  Dr.  Grant,  though 
murders  and  robberies  on  a  smaller  scale  still  continued.  Za- 
withah,  through  the  prudent  management  of  its  principal  men, 
escaped  the  fate  that  overtook  all  the  rest  of  the  valley ;  so  that, 
in  1844,  we  found  it  comparatively  uninjured,  and  the  only 
place  in  the  vicinity  that  could  furnish  supplies  to  the  starving 
garrison  of  x\shitha.  Dr.  Smith  was  moved  by  the  situation  of 
these  Kurds.  He  writes  thus  in  his  journal  :  "  Poor  men  ! 
with  nothing  to  do  but  to  watch  over  the  ruins  of  a  once  pros- 
perous village,  that  they  themselves  have  destroyed.  Meeting 
no  one  without  their  own  gloomy  circle  but  those  whose  hearts 
are  full  of  vengeance,  their  lot  is  pitiable  indeed.  Night  after 
night  they  pace  the  battlements  of  their  castle,  and  utter  their 
watch-cry  to  the  surrounding  hills.  But  no  comforts  of  life  — 
none  from  society,  none  from  home,  none  from  their  own  con- 
sciences —  cheer  their  lonely  hours.  Poor  men  !  I  pitied  them 
so  much  I  could  not  hate  them,  though  I  knew  that,  less  than  a 


364  DR.     G  K  A  N  T     AND     T  H  K 

year  ago,  they  made  one  another  sport  by  throwing  up  Nesto- 
rian  infants,  and  receiving  them  as  they  fell  on  the  points  of 
their  daggers."  They  had  only  enough  sent  them  to  supply 
them  with  barley-soup  for  two  days  in  the  week ;  the  rest  they 
were  expected  to  plunder  from  the  Nestorians.  The  eggs  they 
cooked  for  us  in  the  morning  were  brought  from  Berwer ; 
and  in  the  afternoon  the  remainder  was  warmed  over  again,  as 
they  had  absolutely  nothing  else  to  set  before  us,  so  miserable 
were  the  plunderers,  as  well  as  the  i^lundered. 

In  the  autumn  of  1S46,  Telioma  shared  the  fate  it  had  helped 
to  inflict  on  Tyar}'.  Badir  Khan  Bey  was  the  instrument  of 
this  terrible  retribution.  The  women  were  brought  before  him, 
and  murdered  where  they  stood,  that  there  might  be  no  more 
redeeming  of  captives.  Three  hundred  of  them,  fleeing  to  Bass, 
were  cut  off  in  the  pass  leading  to  that  district.  The  villages 
were  destro3^ed,  and  the  church  pulled  down.  One-half  of  the 
population  is  said  to  have  perished.  One  of  the  Maleks  and 
Kasha  Bodaca  were  among  the  slain.  As  soon  as  the  fugitives 
returned,  they  were  attacked  by  the  emii-.  Many  died  under 
the  tortures  he  inflicted  to  compel  them  to  disclose  the 
treasures  he  fancied  they  had  concealed ;  and  others  fled  into 
Persia. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  with  accuracy  the  whole  num- 
ber that  perished,  in  the  different  massacres.  Many  Kurds 
were  killed,  as  well  as  Nestorians.  But  Dr.  Smith,  who 
was  very  careful  and  accurate  in  his  estimates,  set  down  the 
population  of  the  mountains,  before  the  war,  at  fifty  thousand. 
Dr.  Grant  at  first  called  it  one  hundred  thousand,  but  afterwards 
made  a  lower  estimate.  At  the  time  we  passed  through  the 
mountains  (September,  1844),  there  were  not  one  hundred  hab- 
itable houses  in  all  Tyary ;  and,  leaving  out  Ashitha,  which  was 
almost  wholly  destroyed,  the  ruins  were  to  the  houses  as  six  to 
one.  In  Diss  things  were  much  worse  than  even  that.  The 
houses  we  found  had  mostly  been  rebuilt  since  the  war ;  and 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  il  I  A  N  S  .  365 

as,  owing  to  their  scarcity,  one  contained  three  or  four  times 
as  many  inhabitants  as  formerly,  he  estimated  the  entire 
loss  of  population  by  the  war,  up  to  that  time,  at  not  less 
than  ten  thousand,  or  one-fifth  of  the  whole.  This  was  more 
than  a  year  after  the  first  massacre,  and  ten  months  after  the 
second,  when  many  of  the  fugitives  had  returned  to  their 
former  homes.  Dr.  Perkins  estimates  the  number  of  the  slain 
in  Tehoma,  in  1846,  at  seven  hundred;  but  Mr.  Layard  says 
that  from  four  villages  alone  seven  hundred  and  seventy  had 
perished. 

This  district  is  called  by  the  Kurds  Tehoby,  and  the  Syriac 
name  would  be,  perhaps,  more  accurately  represented  by  "  Tek- 
homa"  than  by  the  more  easily  pronounced  Tehoma. 
30 


CHAPTER     XYIII. 

COURTESY  BETWEEN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETIES LETTERS    OF    DR.  GRANT II /S 

PROPOSITION LABORS   AMONG     THE   JACOBITES MICHA  —  MR.  BADGER 

DR.    GRANT   EXONERATES   HIM   FROM   A     FALSE   CHARGE MAR   SHIMON 

EVIL    OVERRULED    FOR  GOOD BIBLE  CLASS ANOTHER  BEREAVEMENT 

REBUKE   FOR    SYMPATHY DEATH     OF    PASHA HOSPITALITY  TO    REF- 
UGEES  DEATHS     AMONG     THEM DIFFICULTY     ABOUT   BURIAL DR.    A. 

SMITH  —  HIS    JOURNEY CHARACTERISTICS HIS    LETTER    ON    "ORGAN- 
IZATION." 

Having  dwelt  so  long  on  the  war,  so  as  not  to  be  compelled  to 
recur  again  to  the  painful  topic,  let  us  now  return  to  Dr.  Grant 
in  Mosul.  From  the  first  he  had  urged  the  permanent  occupation 
of  this  station,  and  each  of  his  associates,  as  thej  arrived,  had 
seconded  his  plea.  But  the  committee  at  home,  true  to  their  prin- 
ciple of  non-interference  with  other  missionary  societies,  reso- 
lutely refused.  In  their  instructions  to  Mr.  L.  in  1842,  they  had 
said,  "  Our  station  in  Mosul  is  merely  an  outpost,  and  we  hope 
the  necessity  for  it  may  be  but  temporary.  We  have  no  inten- 
tion of  sending  a  mission  to  the  Jacobite  Syrians,  since  we  ac- 
knowledge the  claim  of  our  Episcopal  brethren  to  the  exclu- 
sive possession  of  that  field.  The  relations  of  Mosul,  in  a  mis- 
sionary point  of  viev/,  to  both  these  branches  of  the  Syrian 
church,  are  similar ;  and,  like  Calcutta,  Singapore  and  other  great 
centres,  it  may  be  regarded  as  common  ground ;  "  and  to  these 
principles  they  adhered  to  the  very  last.  If  any  other  society 
interferes  with  the  fields  occupied  by  the  American  Board,  one 
thing  is  certain,  it  is  not  in  retaliation  for  a  similar  ofi'ence. 

Under  the  apprehension  that,  owing  to  the  disasters  in  the  moun- 
tains, and    this  restriction  laid  on  missionary  labor  in  Mosul, 


DR.    GRANT     AND     THE     NESTORIANS.  367 

the  mission  might  be  broken  up,  Dr.  Grant  writes  to  a  friend, 
October  24:  "  I  am  not  anxious  about  it.  I  am  ready  to  go  any- 
where, or  do  anything.  God  is  my  witness,  that  I  have  not  spared 
myself,  nor  shrunk  from  any  trials,  in  seeking  to  promote  his 
cause.  To  Him  J  leave  the  entire  disposal  of  my  future  course." 
Well  might  he  enjoy  this  testimony  of  a  conscience  void  of 
offence.  Few  men  in  like  circumstances  ever  had  a  better  claim 
to  it,  or  could  appeal  more  honestly  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts. 

That  this  readiness  to  go  anywhere  or  do  anything  was  not 
mere  words  will  appear  from  the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Ander- 
son, written  a  month  previous  :  "  In  the  present  state  of  things, 
what  shall  we  do  ?  The  Nestorians  can  no  longer  protect  us. 
Under  God,  the  missionary  must  throw  himself  on  the  mercy 
of  the  Kurds,  counting  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself.  At  the 
risk,  perhaps,  of  being  deemed  insane,  I  have  already  suggested 
seeking  the  protection  of  the  emir,  as  the  only  feasible  means  of 
safety  in  further  labors  in  the  mountains,  though  that  is  not  alto- 
gether safe.  Since  that  time  he  has  v/ritten  to  me,  and  invites 
me  to  return  to  the  mountains,  promising  to  provide  me  a  resi- 
dence wherever  I  desire  it.  I  have  trusted  him,  and  perhaps 
may  still  trust  him.  But,  when  I  remember  how  he  has  plotted 
against  me,  while  professing  to  be  my  friend,  I  feel  it  is  better 
to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence  in  princes.  This 
trust  has  never  failed  me  in  the  darkest  hour.  And,  after  so 
many  and  so  signal  interpositions  of  God  for  my  deliverance,  I 
sometimes  feel  an  almost  invincible  confidence  in  the  greatest 
perils.  But  I  may  not  hope  the  hand  of  violence  will  always  be 
restrained.  And,  should  my  blood  stain  the  dagger  of  the  assas- 
sin, what  would  then  be  the  verdict  of  those  who  sent  me  forth? 
That  I  have  fallen  as  their  messenger,  for  Christ's  sake,  in  the 
faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  committed  to  me,  — -  or  the  victim 
of  my  own  unwarrantable  rashness?  Will  they  sustain  me  in 
returning  thus  to  the  mountains  ?  If  so,  I  am  ready  to  go,  and 
superintend    native  helpers  from    Oroomiah,    distribute  books. 


368  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

establish  scliools,  and  labor  as  God  shall  give  me  opportunity. 
But,  when  I  have  already  incurred  the  charge  of  '  courting  death 
at  every  step,'  it  is  proper  I  should  hear  the  voice  of  the  church 
before  incurring  new  and  greater  dangers.  I  look  to  you,  as 
their  organ,  for  an  answer."     Still  later,  he  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  My  jirivations  in  the  mountains,  many  of  them,  were  pecu- 
liar to  a  pioneer  in  such  a  field,  and  could  not  be  detailed  with- 
out an  appearance  of  boasting  that  ill  becomes  a  follower  of  Him 
who  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep.  To  return  there  is  in  no 
ways  inviting  to  flesh  and  blood.  All  the  romance  of  that  field 
—  if  there  ever  were  any  —  is  now  sober  reality.  There  is  no 
poetry  in  winding  your  weary  way  over  rocks  and  cliffs,  drifted 
snows  or  dashing  torrents.  Neither  is  there  any  in  appeasing 
hunger  from  their  dirty  wooden  bowls  or  still  fouler  goat-skins, 
while  tormented  with  smoke,  insects,  vermin,  and  a  thousand 
nameless  trials,  among  an  impoverished  and  lawless  people. 

"  Families  cannot  live  in  the  existing  insecurity.  The  vrork, 
if  resumed,  must  be  '  in  journeyings  oft,  in  perils  of  waters,  in 
perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  jjerils  by  fiik-e 
brethren,  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in 
fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.'  There  is  no  coloring  in 
this.  These  must  be  met,  or  the  field  abandoned.  No  half-way 
measure  will  meet  the  case.  I  have  no  hope  that  the  Porte  will 
ever  be  able  to  shield  the  missionary,  even  if  so  disposed.  He 
must  cast  himself,  under  God,  Oii  the  Kurdish  chiefs  themselves, 
and  by  his  services  make  them  feel  that  his  life  is  more  profit- 
able to  them  than  his  death.  Still,  a  physician  would  not 
always  be  able  to  save  life  ;  and  the  fate  of  the  papal  missionary 
in  Jezira  shows  what  he  may  expect,  in  that  case.  But  must  we 
shun  danger  when  in  the  path  of  duty  ?  Did  Christ  intend  we 
should,  wher  he  sent  forth  his  disciples,  as  sheep,  amid  wolves, 
and  charged  them  not  to  fear  them  who  can  kill  the  body  ? 

"  But  you  will  tell  me  that,  should  we  fall,  the  mission  will  suf- 
fer in  public  istimation.     I  knov/  it  may,  and  our  namen  loo  he 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     ^  E  S  T  0  11  I  A  N  S  .  369 

cast  out  as  evil.  I  have  sometimes  been  ready  to  shrink  from 
danger,  feeling  that  the  churches  would  condemn  me  for  exposing 
life.  Not  that  I  would  expose  it  rashly  —  God  forbid  !  Life  is 
a  solemn  trust,  given  to  be  used  for  the  glory  of  Christ  on  earth, 
and  for  that  patiently  employed,  till  God  see  fit  to  take  our 
armor  off  and  bid  us  rest.  But  is  the  church  so  truly  conse- 
crated to  Christ  as  to  make  its  voice  a  safe  index  of  duty  where 
peril  is  involved  ? 

"  I  frankly  confess  that,  when  in  peril,  the  thought  that, 
should  I  foil,  many  will  only  say,  '  I  told  you  so,'  and  hand 
down  my  dishonored  memory  as  the  only  heritage  of  my  chil- 
dren, and  an  injury  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  has  caused  me  much 
distress.  But  be  it  so.  I  had  rather  go  to  judgment  with  the 
approval  of  God,  and  the  frown  of  the  world,  than,  for  the  sake 
of  a  good  name  among  men,  meet  that  Judge,  conscious  of  hav- 
ing betrayed  my  trust.  There  is  meaning  in  those  words  of 
Christ,  '  Whosoever  shall  save  his  life  shall  lose  it.'  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  falling  into  danger  when  fleeing  from  it  in  the 
path  of  duty." 

In  a  letter,  dated  November  20th,  he  pleaded  that  the  mission 
might  be  made  "  a  mission  to  Assyria  and  Mesopotamia,  and 
not  to  any  particular  sect ;  "  the  very  thing  that  has  since  been 
done,  with  so  much  success. 

Though  the  mission  was  not  at  liberty  to  undertake  any  regu- 
lar system  of  operations  among  the  Jacobites,  yet  they  could 
not  refuse  to  give  instruction  when  asked ;  for  a  higher  author- 
ity bade  them  "do  good  as  they  had  opportunity  to  all  men." 
The  pleasant  impression  left  by  Mr.  Hinsdale,  joined  to  the 
labors  of  Bishop  Athanasius  and  the  medical  practice  of  Dr. 
Grant,  brought  us  many  visitors ;  and  not  a  few  came  inquiring 
for  the  truth.  This  led  Mr.  L.  to  the  study  of  the  Arabic,  and, 
for  a  time,  he  conversed  with  them  through  Micha,  as  best 
he  could.  Never  can  he  forget  the  first  time  he  spoke  with  this 
man  of  the  great  love  wherewith  Christ  hath  loved  us.  It  was 
30* 


370  DR.    GRANT     AND     THE 

on  the  Sabbath.  They  wei-e  seated  alone  in  an  upper  room ;  and, 
as  the  missionary  spoke  of  the  fulness  and  freeness  of  redeeming 
love,  his  hearer  eagerly  devoured  every  word,  drawing  nearer  as 
his  interest  increased,  till,  grasping  him  by  the  hand,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Do  come  with  me  into  the  houses  of  the  people  and  repeat 
these  good  words,  and  I  will  interpret  them  to  all ;  for  they 
never  heard  such  things  before."  It  was  pleasant  to  witness  the 
good  will  to  man,  so  characteristic  of  the  young  convert  at  home  ; 
and  from  that  time  Micha  took  great  delight  in  explaining  the 
truth  to  all  that  came. 

Finding  the  influence  he  was  thus  exerting,  Mr.  Badger 
sought  to  deprive  us  of  his  services  ;  and,  to  this  end,  represented 
us  to  him  as  out  of  the  church,  without  a  ministry,  or  any  requi- 
site of  discipleship.  He  plied  him  with  ecclesiastical  history 
viewed  from  the  higli-church  stand-point,  and  affectionately 
warned  him  of  the  mischief  that  he,  the  member  of  an  apostoli- 
cal church,  was  doing,  in  introducing  heresy  and  schism  v\ithin 
its  pale.  Micha  had  not  read  much  church  history,  but  he  had 
read  the  Bible,  and  read  it  to  purpose ;  and  nothing  could  shake 
his  confidence  in  those  who  had  pointed  him  to  its  blessed  truths. 
Flattery  was  tried,  but  with  no  better  success.  Threats  were 
next  resorted  to,  and  he  was  actually  denounced  to  the  bishop, 
then  in  Constantinople.  The  latter  wrote,  advising  him  to  leave 
us;  but,  in  reply,  received  such  a  fliithfid  epistle,  backed  by 
such  a  formidable  array  of  proof-texts,  that  he  was  glad  to  let 
him  alone.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  pointed  out  to  the  lead- 
ing Jacobites  in  Mosul  as  a  youth  of  promise,  who  was  led 
astray  by  heretics,  and  likely  to  do  much  harm  to  the  church. 
But  this  only  gave  him  an  opportunity  for  faithful  personal  con- 
versation with  them  ;  and  here  too  Mr.  Badger  was  baffled.  He 
next  tried  a  method  few  in  that  region  could  have  resisted.  He 
offered  him  double  wages.  But  Micha  spurned  the  bribe,  tell- 
ing him  he  was  with  the  Americans,  not  for  their  money,  but 
because  he  loved  the  truth  they  taught.     Justice  requires  me  to 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  871 

add,  that  this  last  mode  of  attack  was  never  mentioned  bj  him, 
though  the  others  were,  and  we  only  heard  of  it  months  after 
the  occurrence,  through  another  party.  When,  owing  to  his 
increased  i^roficiency  in  English,  we  raised  his  wages  from  one 
hundred  piastres  (four  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents)  a  month 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  even  then  he  was  with  difficulty  in- 
duced to  accept  it;  asking,  vrith  tears,  whether  we  doubted  his 
attachment  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

As  regards  the  whole  course  of  Mr.  Badger,  our  instructions 
from  the  Prudential  Committee  had  told  us,  "  If  the  Episcopal 
churches  of  England  or  America  choose  to  open  a  friendly  cor- 
respondence with  the  Nestorians,  you  will  not  interfere  in  any 
way.  Mere  diplomatic  missions  to  the  oriental  churches  will  be 
of  short  continuance.  Let  it  be  your  aim  to  abstain  from  all 
ecclesiastical  or  missionary  diplomacy,  and  quietly  pursue  your 
grand  spiritual  object,  —  the  revival  of  the  knowledge  and 
power  of  the  gospel  among  the  people." 

One  of  the  excellent  Secretaries  of  the  Board  —  the  Rev.  D. 
Greene  —  wrote  to  us  as  follows:  "As  to 'the  troubles  your 
neighbor  occasions  you,  in  your  patience  ye  must  possess 
your  souls.  Pity  him  —  pi";^y  for  him  ;  and  by  your  example 
show  him  a  more  excellent  way.  As  these  things  must,  some 
time  or  other,  be  knovfn  and  judged  of,  — at  the  judgment-day, 
at  latest,  —  we  beg  of  you  to  avoid  everything  reproachful,  or 
that,  to  any  candid  person,  would  seem  dishonorable  to  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  Do  not  lose  your  good-nature  or  quietness  of  spirit. 
Expect  little,  and  then  you  will  not  be  disappointed  if  you  get 
little.  Determine  that  you  will  yourselves  honestly  sei've  God 
in  the  gospel,  and  let  others  serve  their  idol  of  a  church,  if  they 
will.  But  do  not  let  their  errors,  or  trickery,  or  bad  spirit,  pre- 
vent your  cherishing  the  meekness  of  Christ." 

I  cannot  better  describe  the  feelings  or  conduct  of  Dr.  Grant, 
in  the  case,  than  by  turning  the  imperative  of  these  quotations 
into  the  historic  past : 


372  D  It  .     <j  K  A  N  T     A  N  1)     T  II  E 

His  letter  of  October  16  to  the  New  York  Observer,  (ii  the 
causes  of  the  war,  though  it,  perhaps,  makes  the  emir  too  subor- 
dinate, and  ascribes  the  invasion  too  exckisively  to  the  Turks, 
yet  presents  such  a  truthful  picture  of  his  whole  conduct  'n  the 
matter  now  before  us,  that  it  is  here  inserted  nearly  in  full.  It 
was  written  to  defend  Mr.  Badger  from  the  unjust  charges  of 
members  of  his  own  church,  when  the  man  thus  defendei  had 
not  only  repelled  with  scorn  every  effort  of  Dr.  Grant  to  live 
in  peace,  but  had  not  even  entered  the  house  for  months. 
It  was  penned,. too,  as  soon  as  M.  Botta  pointed  oui,  the 
article  in  a  French  paper,  and  when  he  had  to  get  another  to 
translate  it.  Nor  will  the  reader  forget  that  this  defence  of  his 
opposer  was  made  when  there  was  not  the  least  necessity  for 
self-defence,  as  the  article  in  question  expressly  stated  that  "  the 
American  missionaries  were  exempt  from  blame." 

"  The  late  war  in  Kurdistan,  which  has  resulted  in  the  subju- 
gation of  the  Mountain  Nestorians,  appears  to  be  very  imper- 
fectly understood. 

"  In  the  Journal  des  Debats  of  September  8,  we  find  a  letter 
from  the  Constantinople  correspondent  of  the  London  Globe, 
charging  the  whole  affair  to  '  the  religious  quarrels  of  the  inde- 
pendent Americans,  the  English  Puseyites,  and  the  French 
Catholics.'  This  is  too  grave  a  charge  to  pass  unnoticed;  and 
I  feel  less  reluctant  to  state  the  facts  in  the  case,  since  the  \i^riter 
has  frankly  avowed  that 'justice  requires  it  to  be  stated  that, 
in  this  affair,  the  American  missionaries  are  exempt  from  blame.' 
Perhaps  I  cannot  better  do  justice  to  the  whole  subject  than  by 
presenting  a  brief  account  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  late 
calamities  of  the  unfortunate  Nestorians.  From  the  watch- word 
of  Islam  —  '  The  Koran,  tribute,  or  the  sword '  —  it  may  well 
be  inferred  that  the  existence  of  a  body  of  nominal  Christians, 
who  have  for  centuries  resisted  each  of  these  demands,  has  been 
a  reproach  which  'the  faithfiil '  wf-e  eager  to  wipe  away.     But 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  373 

this  was  difficult  to  effect,  as  their  victims  were  defended  by  the 
double  rampart  of  almost  impassable  mountains  and  unsubdued 
tribes  of  Kurds,  —  these  last  too  much  divided  among  themselves 
to  attempt  the  conquest  of  their  neighbors.  At  length,  Reschid 
Pasha  so  far  subdued  the  Kurds  that  the  Turks  hoped  to  make 
them  efficient  agents  in  the  work;  and,  on  my  first  visit  to  this 
city,  in  1 839, 1  found  the  pasha  eager  to  go  against  the  Nestorians, 
having  extended  his  sway  to  the  very  borders  of  their  country. 
And  on  my  return  to  Julamerk,  in  1840,  Nurullah  Bey  had  gone 
to  form  an  alliance  with  the  Pasha  of  Erzriim,  his  principal 
object  being  the  subjugation  of  the  independent  Nestorians, 
living,  as  they  did,  within  the  nominal  bounds  of  that  pashaiic. 

"  On  my  v/ay  to  Constantinople,  I  met  this  chief  at  Van,  with 
a  new  pasha  of  that  place,  who  had  been  sent  with  immediate 
reference  to  this  end,  of  which,  indeed,  he  made  no  secret. 

"  At  the  same  time,  the  Pasha  of  Mosul  had  marched  to  Ama- 
dia,  with  ultimate  reference  to  the  Nestorians.  Mr.  Ainsworth, 
writing  from  that  place,  on  the  very  day  that  I  left  Van,  says : 
'  This  day  he  pitched  his  tents  within  a  mile  of  the  town ;  and 
greatly  did  the  officers  rejoice  at  what  they  deemed  certain,  the 
immediate  subjugation  of  the  Nestorian  mountaineers.'  —  Ains- 
worth, vol.  II.  p.  203. 

"  Thus  the  matter  stood  when  I  went  to  America ;  and  hence 
it  was  not  without  reason  that  I  said,  '  The  Nestorians  were, 
perhaps,  never  in  more  danger  than  now  of  being  subdued  by  the 
Turks,  who  have  pushed  their  conquests  to  the  very  borders  of 
their  mountain-home ;  and  into  that,  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe,  they  intend  to  penetrate.'  —  Nestorians,  ^c,  p.  324. 

"  On  my  return  to  the  East,  in  1841, 1  found  that  these  plans 
had  been  delayed  by  the  removal  of  Hafiz  Pasha  from  Erzrum, 
the  death  of  the  Waly  of  Van,  and  the  sudden  recall  of  the 
Pasha  of  Mosul,  to  drive  back  the  Persians  from  Sulimanieh. 
Yet  th3  plan  was  not  abandoned;  and  the  Hakkary  chief  had 
already  gone  to  obtain  assistance  from  Badir  Khan  Bey,  who 


874  D  R  .    G  R  A  N  T     AND     THE 

proved  the  most  efficient  agent  in  the  late  invasion.  The  united 
forces  of  these  chiefs  made  a  descent  upon  Diss,  burned  the 
Patriarch's  house,  and  retired  without  molesting  the  more  pow- 
erful tribes.  The  blow,  however,  was  one  from  which  the  Nes- 
torians  never  recovered,  and,  by  weakening  their  courage  and 
dividing  their  counsels,  did  much  to  prepare  the  way  for  their 
final  downfall.  Indeed,  from  that  time,  the  Hakkary  chief 
claimed  their  whole  country  as  his  own. 

"  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  the  Pasha  of  Mosul  seat  an 
army  against  them,  which  returned,  however,  without  effecting 
anything,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the  weather.  The  Nesturians 
then  took  their  revenge,  by  ravaging  the  neighboring  villages  of 
the  pasha,  while  the  latter  consoled  himself  with  forming  more 
efficient  plans  for  the  ensuing  spring.  These  again  were  frus- 
trated by  a  revolt  of  the  Kurds,  and  the  temporary  loss  of  .ima- 
dia.  The  Pasha  of  Erzrum  was,  at  the  same  time,  engaged  in 
the  threatened  war  with  Persia ;  so  that  no  progress  was  made 
last  year  towards  the  desired  result.  During  this  per'.od  I 
reentered  the  mountains  from  Persia,  and  obtained  the  official 
permission  of  the  emir  to  build  houses  in  Ashitha,  where,  in 
September  last,  I  commenced  the  erection  of  a  house,  in  the 
judgment  of  myself  and  associates  barely  sufficient  to  accommo- 
date the  mission  families  and  a  school.  It  was  built  by  native 
workmen,  in  the  style  of  their  own  dwellings,  with  rough  stones, 
picked  up  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  laid  in  mud ;  and 
the  walls  were  neither  higher  nor  thicker  than  many  of  the  native 
dwellings. 

"  In  October  a  missionary  associate  arrived  in  the  mountains ; 
and,  shortly  after,  a  Roman  Catholic  missionary  visited  the 
Patriarch,  with  whom  we  were  then  staying;  but  he  sooii  re- 
turned, without  an  unpleasant  word  passing  between  us.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  more  than  once  under  my  professional 
care  in  this  city,  as  well  as  some  of  his  associates,  and  I  may 
safely  say  that  all  our  intercourse  has  been  in  strict  accordance 


MOUNTAIN     NESTOKIANS.  375 

with  the  apostolic  injunction,  '  Be  courteous,'  however  widely  we 
differ  in  religious  opinion ;  while  the  worthy  consul  of  France, 
AFhose  protection  they  enjoy,  we  are  happy  to  number  among  our 
best  personal  friends.  If  such  has  not  been,  in  all  respects,  the 
character  of  our  relations  with  '  the  English  Puseyites,'  it  is  a 
solitary  exception  to  the  most  friendly  relations  which  we  have 
sustained  with  all  other  English  gentlemen  whose  acquaintance 
we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  making  in  the  East ;  and  the  fault 
must  rest  where  the  correspondent  of  the  Globe  has  laid  it.  I 
have  attended  upon  them  in  sickness ;  and  both  I  and  my  asso- 
ciate have  sought,  by  every  proper  means,  to  cultivate  a  friendly 
relation  —  conscientiously  avoiding  to  speak  against  them,  under 
any  provocation.  If  we  have  failed,  the  responsibility  must  rest 
with  Mr.  Badger  for  any  evil  arising  from  his  opposition  to  us. 
But,  certainly  the  late  disasters  of  the  Nestorians  had  no  con- 
nection with  such  a  cause. 

"  These  facts  clearly  show  that  no  act  of  either  English, 
French  or  Americans,  could  have  been  the  occasion  of  the  late 
invasion.  The  origin  of  that  lies  in  other  events,  of  a  much 
earlier  date.  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Ainsworth  dates  more  than 
two  years  prior  to  the  entrance  of  either  the  English  or  French, 
or  the  commencement  of  our  building  in  the  mountains.  The 
burning  of  the  Patriarch's  house,  in  1841,  was  a  year  previous 
to  these  events ;  and  the  representatives  of  the  British  govern- 
ment at  Constantinople,  Erzrum,  Mosul,  Bagdad  and  the  court 
of  Persia,  can  furnish  evidence  of  the  danger  to  which  the  Nes- 
torians have  been  exposed,  from  that  day  to  the  present. 

"  It  is  well  known  that,  in  these  countries,  it  is  never  difl&cult 
to  get  up  a  report,  however  incredible,  and  support  it  with  the 
most  barefaced  effrontery.  A  case  is  at  hand  precisely  parallel 
to  the  rumor  of  our  own  castle-building.  M.  Botta  built  a 
small  house,  of  sun-dried  brick,  to  shelter  himself  while  prose- 
cuting his  researches  at  Khorsabad,  and  our  pasha  has  complained 
that  he  has  built  a  large  castle,  —  making  representations  as 


876  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

extravagant  and  unfounded  as  in  our  own  case.  In  both 
instances  there  was  written  permission  to  build ;  and  the  docu- 
ment giving  permission,  in  our  own  case,  may  be  seen  in  the  U.  S. 
Legation,  Constantinople,  bearing  the  official  seal  of  the  Hakkary 
chief,  and  endorsed  and  sealed  by  Mar  Shimon.  Besides  this,  I 
have  lately  received  a  j)rivate  letter  from  the  same  chief,  invit- 
ing me  to  return  and  reside  in  the  mountains,  pledging  me  his 
aid  and  protection,  with  assurances  of  unaltered  confidence. 
Similar  professions  were  made  by  Badir  Khan  Bey,  on  my  visit 
to  him  at  Derguleh.  And  the  Pasha  of  Mosul,  after  sending 
his  complaints  to  the  capital,  so  far  from  opposing,  gave  us  his 
official  protection  on  our  return  to  the  mountains  for  the  present 
year.  These  are  not  the  acts  of  men  who  believe  their  own  evil 
reports,  the  true  object  of  which  this  is  not  the  time  nor  place  to 
investigate." 

Well  might  the  editor  write,  in  forwarding  the  above :  "  The 
letter  itself  is  a  noble  one ;  but,  when  you  contemplate  a  man 
pausing  in  the  midst  of  pressing  duties  to  defend  the  enemies  of 
his  mission  against  attacks  made  on  them  thousands  of  miles  off, 
I  think  you  will  see  a  trait  of  character  as  rare  as  it  is  beautiful 
and  Christ-like. 

"  I  have  always  regarded  Dr.  Grant  as  an  extraordinary 
man ;  and,  in  a  long  editorial  life,  in  which  it  has  been  my  con- 
stant duty  to  observe  the  progress  of  error  and  truth  in  the 
world,  I  have  never  met  with  an  instance  that  equals  this,  in  true 
Christian  principle  and  magnanimity.  I  therefore  shall  feel  a 
peculiar  pleasure  in  seeing  it  recorded,  making  true  the  words 
of  the  poet, 

'  Only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet,  and  blossom  in  the  dust.'  " 

Mar  Shimon  now  expected  to  realize  at  once  the  bright  visions 
of  political  help  held  up  before  him  by  his  new  friends.  But 
weeks  and  months  passed  away,  and  his  impatience  deepened 


M  0  U  N  T  A  I  N      N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  377 

into  a  settled  melancholy.  Accustomed  to  the  bracing  air  of  the 
mountains,  he  pined  away  in  one  of  the  hottest  cities  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, distressed  by  the  past,  and  despairing  for  the  future. 
But  all  this  time  Dr.  Grant  never  alluded  to  the  failure  of  the 
plans  already  mentioned.  No't  a  word  did  he  utter  to  the  detri- 
ment of  his  opposer ;  he  rather  encouraged  the  drooping  spirits 
of  the  Patriarch,  and  bade  him  still  hope  on.  Above  all,  he 
sought  to.  have  him  look  up  to  God,  who  permitted  these  trials 
for  the  good  of  His  people,  and  wait  for  his  deliverance.  Often, 
as  they  talked  together,  his  voice  Avould  falter,  and  tears  mingle 
with  his  eonsolationy. 

The  getting  the  Patriarch  away  from  Dr.  Grant,  as  already 
related,  relieved  the  mission  of  a  considerable  expenditure  it 
would  otherwise  have  been  difficult  to  avoid,  as  he  remained  in 
Mosul  till  after  the  defeat  and  capture  of  Badir  Khan  Bey  and 
the  emir  by  the  Turks ;  and,  besides  convincing  Mar  Shimon 
himself  of  the  truth  of  Dr.  Grant's  repeated  assertions,  that  he 
had  neither  political  aims  nor  influence,  it  satisfied  the  Turkish 
authorities  of  our  neutrality  in  politics,  and  so  impressed  even 
the  Moslems  vi^ith  the  strictly  religious  nature  of  our  mission, 
that,  in  the  following  summer,  when  a  mob  tore  down  the  papal 
church,  then  in  process  of  erection,  and  wounded  one  of  the 
padres,  we  were  the  only  Franks  that  could  walk  the  streets 
without  insult,  and  were  treated  with  more  than  usual  attention, 
even  though  Dr.  Smith  was  then  in  attendance  on  the  wounded 
priest. 

Dr.  Grant  now  devoted  his  time  to  doing  good  in  Mosul,  as 
well  as  to  efforts  for  the  benefit  of  the  suffering  Nestorians. 
These  last  were  not  confined  to  strictly  missionary  operations. 
As  soon  as  he  heard  that  the  only  sister  of  Mar  Shimon,  and  one 
of  his  brothers,  were  captives  at  Julamerk,  he  sent  his  servant 
to  negotiate  their  ransom.  Fortunately,  they  had  just  made 
their  escape  before  the  messenger  arrived;  and  the  emir  was 
31 


378  D  R  .     G  R  A  N  T     A  N  D     T  H  E 

profuse  in  declarations  of  what  he  would  have  done  fcr  his  friend 
when  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  do  it. 

Meanwhile,  owing  to  the  extreme  heat,  and  other  interrup- 
tions, the  progress  of  Mr.  L.  in  Arabic  was  but  slow ;  yet,  no 
sooner  was  he  known  to  be  thus  engaged,  than  numbers  of  the 
Jacobites  came,  earnestly  desiring  religious  instruction.  What 
could  he  do  ?  He  was  not  at  liberty  to  do  anything  that  involved 
expenditure.  But  it  required  no  outlay  to  instruct  a  few  young 
men  in  the  Bible  ;  and  they  were  therefore  requested  to  meet 
him  at  a  given  hour  on  the  Sabbath.  Thus  commenced  a  Bible- 
class,  which  was  maintained,  with  few  interruptions,  till  the 
mission  was  broken  up.  The  work  was  very  difficult  at  first,  as 
he  had  only  given  some  three  months  to  the  study  of  the  lan- 
guage ;  but,  believing  that  scripture  is  its  own  best  interpreter, 
the  text  in  hand  was  explained  by  a  copious  quotation  of  par- 
allel passages,  and  questions  were  answered  by  referring  the 
inquirer  to  some  verse  that  expressed  the  thing  he  sought. 
Thus,  by  the  aid  of  Micha,  and  their  own  interest  in  the  matter, 
he  succeeded  far  beyond  his  hopes.  The  attendance  gradually 
increased,  though  it  never  rose  much  above  twenty.  More 
questions  were  asked.  The  exercise  became  more  interesting ; 
and,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  the  Bible  was  the  standard 
of  appeal,  and  the  decision  of  each  question  was  in  the  language 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Presented  even  in  this  imperfect  way,  the  tearful  eye  often 
witnessed  to  the  power  of  the  truth;  and  nothing  moved  the 
hearts  of  that  little  company  more  than  the  views  of  Christ 
presented  in  the  gospel.  They  had  been  taught  to  look  on  him 
as  a  being  enthroned  at  an  infinite  distance,  and  accessible  only 
through  other  intercessors ;  and  therefore,  when  they  heard  him 
say  "  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother  and  sister  and  mother,"  they 
seemed  to  enter  into  a  new  world.  Words  cannot  express  the 
delight  of  unfolding  truth  like  this  to  such  hearers,  and  eternity 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  379 

alone  will  disclose  the  results.  The  plainest  practical  remarks 
seemed  to  fall  on  their  ears  as  if  fresh  from  heaven.  One  youno- 
man,  who  gave  twenty  piastres  for  a  Syriac  Bible,  before  our 
coming,  when  he  found  that  he  was  too  late  one  Sabbath  for 
the  Bible-class,  declared  he  had  rather  spend  the  night  in  the 
house  than  lose  it  again;  and  next  Sabbath  saw  him  there 
an  hour  or  two  before  the  time.  Another,  who  was  reading  the 
Bible  to  one  of  the  females  of  his  family,  was  frightened,  and 
desisted,  as  she  burst  into  tears,  saying,  "  If  that  be  true,  our 
w^ays  are  crooked  ways.  What  shall  we  do  ? "  It  was  a  result 
of  the  truth  he  had  not  looked  for.  The  sister  of  one  of  the 
young  men  learned  to  read,  and  used  to  read  the  gospel  to  her 
neighbors  when  they  called.  She  also  longed  to  be  able  to  teach 
a  school  for  girls. 

.Thus  much  the  writer  may  be  allowed  to  say.  that  no  portion 
of  his  life  ever  yielded  such  happiness  as  the  hours  spent  with 
that  little  Bible-class  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris ;  and  nowhere 
does  memory  revert  with  such  unalloyed  delight  as  to  that  loved 
scene  of  labor  for  his  Kedeemer. 

There  were  other  things  not  so  pleasant,  —  opposition  amount- 
ing sometimes  even  to  persecution,  accusations  before  the  kadi, 
and  spies  set  to  watch,  and  report  those  who  attended.  There 
was  one  deacon,  too,  more  learned  than  most,  who  loved  nothing 
so  much  as  to  dispute.  He  was  hot  and  hasty  withal,  and  gen- 
erally was  no  sooner  seated  than  he  plunged  into  some  "  questio 
vexata  "  of  his  church.  The  effort  to  lead  to  more  practical 
views  of  truth  was  soon  abandoned,  in  despair.  A  torrent  of 
Arabic  terms  in  theology,  utterly  unintelligible  to  the  mission- 
ary, swept  away  every  endeavor  to  reply,  and  left  no  other 
resource  but  silence,  or  a  confession  of  ignorance  as  to  his 
meaning,  that  was  set  down  as  ignorance  of  the  point  in 
debate. 

In  December  the  mission  was  again  afflicted,  in  the  death  of 
Mrs.  L.     She  was  a  pupil  of  Miss  Grant  and  Miss  Lyon,  at  Ips- 


380  D 11 .    GRANT     AND     THE 

wich;  and,  after  leaving  the  seminary,  her  love  of  doing  good 
would  not  allow  her  to  be  inactive,  and  she  taught  a  private 
school  of  young  ladies,  loving  and  beloved  by  all  v/ho  knew  her. 
Her  class  in  Sabbath-school  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  her 
absence,  or  of  want  of  interest  in  the  lesson  a,s  explained  by 
their  teacher.  She  delighted  in  the  Scriptures,  and  never  was 
happier  than  when,  alone  in  her  rcom,  for  hours  she  oommuned 
with  God  through  the  pages  of  his  word.  And  yet,  so  deeply 
did  she  feel  for  those  who  had  not  yet  learned  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  that  she  once  expressed  to  a  friend  her  fears  lest 
such  enjoyment  vras  selfish  while  ;-o  much  was  to  be  done  for 
others.  And  when,  in  May,  she  was  asked  whether  she  was 
willing  to  return  with  Mr.  L.  to  the  mountains,  the  prospect 
of  gathering  a  few  of  her  own  sex,  and  teaching  them  the  way 
of  salvation  through  Christ,  seemed  to  cover  up  all  the  privation 
and  peril  of  the  attempt.  A  home,  even  in  a  border-village  of 
the  mountains,  where  she  might  engage  in  active  missionary 
work,  had  for  her  greater  attractions  than  the  comparative  com- 
fort and  safety  of  Mosul,  where  we  were  so  shut  out  from  labor. 
In  September  she  expressed  a  sense  of  unusual  enjoyment  in 
spiritual  things.  Little  did  we  think  it  was  the  Master  prepar- 
ing her  to  depart.  Even  she  herself  may  not  have  understood 
the  meaning  of  those  clear  viev/s  of  the  loveliness  of  Christ,  and 
that  child-like  faith  in  the  riches  of  his  grace.  But  does  the 
Good  Shepherd  ever  call  a  believer  home  whom  he  does  not 
prepare  for  the  change  ? 

During  October  and  November  she  gradually  grew  weak, 
under  a  distressing  disorder,  with  symptoms,  writes  Dr.  Grant, 
strongly  resembling  "  quick  consumption,"  till,  at  last,  after  fifty 
hours  of  agony  such  as  her  physician  pronounced  the  most  pain- 
ful and  protracted  he  had  witnessed  in  a  practice  of  fifteen  years, 
she  sweetly  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  During  all  that  sore  distress 
we  could  only  look  on  and  adore  the  grace  of  God.  In  her 
severest  sufi'erings  she    manifested  the  utmost  patience.      She 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIAiNS.  381 

spoke  with  difficulty,  every  sentence  cut  short  by  pain  ;  yet  she 
never  addressed  one  of  us  without  using  the  terms  "  dear," 
"kind,"  "  sweet,"  or  similar  expressions.  ^During  her  greatest 
distress  one  of  us  sat  constantly  at  the  bed-side,  holding  her  hand 
in  ours.  The  day  before  she  died  she  repeated  frequently,  and 
with  evident  delight,  the  words,  "  He  knows  the  end  from  the 
beginning."  She  said  that,  much  as  she  had  admired  the  faith 
of  the  woman  who  touched  the  border  of  Christ's  garment  before, 
now  it  seemed  more  lovely  than  ever.  Several  times  she 
remarked,  looking  gratefully  at  Dr.  Grant,  "  How  good  it  is  to 
have  a  physician  that  confides  in  God,  and  looks  to  him  for 
success  !  "  Once,  when  she  said,  "  I  am  so  unworth}'  !  "  it  was 
remarked,  "  But  unworthiness  glorifies  griice." — "  Yes,  yes  !  " 
she  eagerly  replied ;  "0,  what  a  blessed  thought !  "  At  her 
request,  several  passages  of  scripture  were  quoted,  and  she 
repeated  over  again,  with  evident  joy,  "  Yes,  '  Call  upon  me  in 
the  day  of  trouble.  I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify 
me.'  'I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare 
a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself, 
that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also.'  "  This  last  was  one  of 
many  passages  in  her  well-worn  Bible  that  were  marked,  as 
having  previously  afforded  her  much  enjoyment.  Once,  when 
in  great  distress,  she  exclaimed,  twice  over,  "  0,  how  much  more 
mercy  than  I  deserve  !  "  As  the  night  advanced,  she  lay  in  quiet 
unconsciousness,  —  her  eyes  fixed,  her  face  and  hands  cold  and 
clammy.  We  had  despaired  of  any  further  recognition.  Yet, 
once  more,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry,  "  Are  you  able  to  rest  on 
Christ  ?  "  she  answered  "  Yes."  But  the  "  I  am  "  that  followed 
was  rendered  indistinct  by  the  rattling  in  her  throat;  and,  at  a 
quarter  before  one  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  December  16,  she 
entered  into  rest.  She  was  buried  the  same  day,  in  the  court 
of  the  Jacobite  church.  Mar  Shimon  read  select  portions  of 
scripture,  and  pronounced  the  benediction  at  the  grave.  Jac- 
obite and  Nestorian  priests  stood  side  by  side,  mingling  with 
31* 


382  ,     DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

tears  for  the  dead,  kind  words  of  sympathy  for  the  living.  Her 
remains  lie  beside  those  of  Mr.  Hinsdale,  awaiting  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  just. 

In  communicating  this  fresh  bereavement  to  the  ccmmittee  at 
home.  Dr.  Grant  says :  "  Hers  was  a  life  that  needed  no  death- 
bed testimony ;  though  this  was  not  wanting.  Fler  vfork  was 
done.  A  noble  testimony  of  Christian  devotedness  had  been 
given  in  her  consecration  to  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  trying 
fields  in  modern  missions,  and  she  needs  not  our  poor  eulogy  to 
embalm  her  memory." 

Two  days  after  her  death,  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Jones,  at  Oroomiah  : 
"  You  will  s}Tiipathize  with  us  in  the  loss  of  dear  Sister  L.,  who 
left  us  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  Christian  hope.  We  all  feel 
her  loss  very  deeply.  It  seems  to  each  of  us  a  personal  bereave- 
ment. We  were  all  one  family,  and  all  one  in  heart.  May 
the  Lord,  in  mercy,  sanctify  to  us  this  affliction  !  How  frequent 
our  admonitions  to  live  v»^holly  for  Christ !  A  lively  sense  of  the 
nearness  of  eternity  would  increase  our  fidelity  to  the  perishing, 
and  impart  tenderness  to  all  our  intercourse  with  those  who  may 
soon  perform  the  last  sad  offices  to  our  lifeless  remains,  or  we  to 
theirs,  —  with  those  in  whose  society  we  hope  to  spend  eter- 
nity, where  the  sin  and  suffering  that  annoy  us  here  shall  be 
known  no  more." 

Several  Jacobite  priests  came  to  sympathize  with  us,  the  Sab- 
bath after  the  funeral ;  and,  as  it  was  near  the  regular  horn-  for 
the  Bible-class,  they  remained  to  attend  it.  But,  for  this  they 
were  sharply  rebuked,  by  one  whose  name  need  not  be  repeated. 

About  a  month  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  L.,  occurred  another, 
of  a  difi"erent  character.  Mohammed  Pasha,  who  had  imbibed  a 
love  of  strong  drink  with  his  other  European  tastes,  was  seized, 
on  the  13th  of  January,  with  inflammation  of  the  heart,  and 
died,  after  an  illness  of  only  five  days.  His  intemperate  habits 
rendered  recovery  almost  hopeless,  from  the  first ;  and  when  the 
news  of  his  death  spread  through  the  city,  it  was  the  signal  for 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  383 

general  rejoicing  among  the  Mosl:ms,  —  for  his  exactions  had 
been  more  impartial  than  they  had  found  agreeable.  Men  kissed 
each  other  in  the  streets ;  and  so  marked  was  the  popular  indif>-- 
nation  that  for  a  long  time  not  even  a  stone  was  set  up  to  mark 
his  grave.  The  Christians  also  felt  a  momentary  relief,  yet 
rejoiced  with  trembling,  le:4  his  successor  should  increase,  rather 
than  diminish,  their  burdens.  Dr.  Grant  was  summoned  to  him 
as  he  lay  on  the  divan  of  his  reception  room,  surrounded  by  the 
mercenaries  of  the  palace,  instead  of  his  family,  though  they 
were  under  the  same  roof.  But,  with  his  usual  prudence,  he 
gave  no  medicine,  and  only  advised  with  the  Armenian  phj^si- 
cian,  lest  he  should  be  charged  with  bringing  about  the  result 
he  saw  was  inevitable. 

A  day  cr  two  after,  Dr.  Grant  wrote  to  Mrs.  Jones,  at 
Oroomiah : 

"  Two  weeks  ago,  I  received  a  letter  from  my  eldest  son,  beg- 
ging me  to  return,  'for  the  sake  of  his  younger  irothers.'  I  do 
hope  yet  to  be  allowed  to  stay  till  I  see  a  work  of  grace  among 
the  dear  Nestorians.  When  will  i\\G  work  of  the  Lord  be  re- 
vived at  your  station  ?  When  will  obstacles  be  removed  out  of 
our  way  ?  I  see  not  vdiat  can  be  done  to  relieve  the  distracted 
state  of  the  mountains.  Our  horizon  looks  darker  and  darker. 
In  one  direction  alone  is  light.  It  is  upwards  !  towards  the 
eternal  throne  !  There  all  is  light  and  all  is  love.  0,  precious 
truth  !  '  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice,'  Our  plans 
may  fail,  but  God's  never  I  All  the  commotions  that  try  our 
faith  are  carrying  out  his  plans.  Greater  judgments  m.ay  yet 
be  poured  upon  these  guilty  lands ;  but  they  prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord.  The  day. of  mercy  is  at  hand,  when  «  Israel  shall  bud 
and  blossom,  and  fill  the  face  of  the  world  with  fruit.'  I  am  no 
prophet;  but,  if  I  have  not  been  a  dull  scholar,  both  of  prophecy 
and  providence,  we  shall,  within  a  fev,^  years,  see  yet  greater 
changes  in  these  lands,  and  all  concentring  in  God's  infinite 
plans  of  mercy  to  a  dying  world." 


384  i>  K  .      U  K  A  N  T     AND     T  U  E 

One  cannot  read  any  of  hia  letters  written  about  this  time, 
and  not  be  struck  with  the  pensive  yet  heavenly  spirit  breathed 
through  them  all.  We  neem  to  catch  the  notes  of  a  plaintive 
but  deep-toned  music,  from  the  borders  of  another  world;  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  a  great  heart,  and  see  God  cut  oif,  one 
by  one,  the  strong  ties  that  bound  it  to  earth,  and  flisten  them 
on  himself. 

So  it  was  with  his  attachment  to  his  children ;  so  it  was  with 
his  affection  for  his  friends ;  and  so  also  with  his  love  to  the 
people  for.  whose  sake  he  had  left  them  all.  Every  earthly  bond 
of  interest  in  that  people  seemed  to  fade  away,  and  give  place  to 
others,  exclusively  associated  with  God  and  heaven. 

But,  to  return  again  to  the  Nestorians.  Their  independence 
was  gene,  beyond  recovery.  Nothing  remained  to  any  of  the 
tribes  but  the  most  abject  submission  to  their  oppressors.  Those 
who  were  not  slain  were  ground  to  the  very  dust.  Yet  some 
were  too  proud  to  confess  this  ;  and  especially  a  few  who  had 
fled  to  Oroomiah,  aware  of  our  anxiety  to  labor  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  hoping,  by  our  means,  yet  to  liumble  the  Kurds, 
hinted  that  our  operations  there  had  occasioned  their  disasters, 
by  way  of  enforcing  a  claim  on  us  to  return  and  undo  the  evil. 

But  to  the  refugees  in  Turkey  their  utter  overthrow  was  too 
palpable  to  be  denied.  Winter  drew  near,  and  thousands, 
houseless  and  destitute,  left  the  snows  of  Tyary  for  the  villages 
near  Mosul.  They  were  without  money  or  food,  and  almost  with- 
out clothing.  The  widow  was  still  weeping  for  her  slaughtered 
husband,  and  the  orphan  comprehended  his  loss  too  clearly  in 
that  sore  distress.  In  such  extremity  they  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Chaldeans  ;  and  forty  thousand  piastres  of  French  gold 
were  said  to  have  aided  the  arguments  emplo^'cd  to  convince 
them  of  the  identity  of  that  church  with  their  own.  Poor 
people  !  they  had  never  been  taught  the  truth  ;  and,  hungry  and 
broken-hearted,  what  could  their  ignorance  ojvpose  to  the  craft 
of  their    wily  benefactors  ?     To  counteract  th::;-   iiiHucnce,   Mr. 


M  0  U  N  T  A  1  N     N  E  S  T  0  K  I  A  N  S  .  385 

Badger  took  a  number  of  them  into  a  house  he  happened  to  have 
unoccupied  at  the  time.  Dr.  Grant  hesitated  to  spend  mission- 
ary funds  in  relieving  mere  temporal  distress,  when,  to  do  any- 
thing adequate  to  the  emergency,  required  so  large  an  outlay. 
But,  one  morning,  fifty  of  his  old  acquaintances,  headed  by  one 
of  the  priests  of  Ashitha,  entered  the  court-3Mrd  and  threw  them- 
selves on  his  hospitality.  His  plans  were  formed  at  once.  He 
hired  a  house,  selected  the  orphans  and  widows  with  children, 
besides  some  of  the  more  helpless  and  infirm,  fed  them,  clothed 
them,  and  formed  the  children  into  a  school.  Not  content 
with  this,  he  sought  every  opportunity  to  point  them  to  a 
better  Friend,  who  gave  his  life  for  their  salvation,  —  to  a  heav- 
enly Father,  vrho,  with  his  own  Son,  was  ready  to  give  all  other 
things.  On  Sabbath  he  regularly  met  with  them,  and,  in  his 
kind  and  familiar  way,  unfolded  the  consolations  of  the  word  of 
God,  and  sought  to  lead  them  to  the  Saviour.  Thus  the  winter 
was  gliding  away,  when  a  low  typhus  fever  broke  out  among  the 
hapless  fugitives.  It  attacked  them  in  the  villages ;  it  found 
them  out  in  Mosul ;  it  raged  among  the  Turkish  soldiers  m 
the  barracks;  and  so  fatal  were  its  attacks,  that  out  of  the  ninety 
Nestorians  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Grant,  as  many  as  twelve 
followed  each  other  rapidly  to  the  grave. 

The  Chaldeans  now  refused  them  burial  in  the  cemeteries  that 
had  but  lately  belonged  to  Nestorian  churches.  Mr.  Badger 
made  a  vigorous  attempt  to  induce  the  pasha  to  compel  them  to 
this  act  of  humanity.  For,  to  do  him  justice,  he  spared  no 
effort  for  their  political  good  ;  and  if  Mar  Shimon  is  not  now 
the  civil  head  of  the  Nestorians,  and  the  dust  of  his  followers 
reposing  quietly  in  their  ancestral  grave-yards  at  Mosul,  it  is 
through  no  lack  of  labor  on  his  part.  But  his  efforts  were  in 
vain  ;  and  the  Jacobites  kindly  opened  their  church-yards  to 
their  theologica-  opponents.  Hitherto,  a  few  had  been  allowed 
to  reside  in  courts  of  the  Chaldean  churches,  as  is  the  custom  of 
beggars  who  subsist  on  (lie  alms  of  (hose  going  in  to  worship 


38G  DR.      GRANT     AND     THE 

(Acts  3  :  2).  But  now  the  disease  extended  to  them  also;  and 
whoever  fell  sick  was  forthwith  driven  out,  lest  the  question 
of  burial  should  come  up  in  a  new  form.  One  poor  man,  thus 
cast  out,  dragged  himself  to  Dr.  Grant,  and,  after  receiving  med- 
icine, could  only  throw  himself  down  among  those  already  under 
his  care.  These  were  so  crowded,  in  a  small  house  it  was  im- 
possible to  ventilate,  that  their  recovery  was  very  slow.  But 
they  had  just  begun  to  improve,  when  another  victim  of  papiil 
mercy  was  thrown  down  among  them  in  the  agonies  of  death, 
without  a  word  said  to  Dr.  Grant.  The  poor  wretch  was  be- 
yond relief,  and  the  presence  of  another  corpse  would  only 
endanger  the  survivors.  So  he  ordered  the  man  who  brought 
him  to  carry  him  back.  Instead  of  that,  he  laid  him  down  in 
a  Mohammedan  grave-yard,  where  he  miserably  perished. 

Mr.  Badger  had  a  larger  number  of  the  Nestorians  under  his 
care  than  Dr.  Grant;  but,  as  soon  as  the  disease  appeared  among 
them,  he  saved  himself  any  further  trouble  by  dismissing  them  all 
at  once. 

On  the  29th  of  3Iarch,  we  were  cheered  by  the  arrival  of  Dr. 
Smith.  He  had  obtained  the  firman  refused  before  the  war, 
with  only  Julamerk  left  out  of  the  list  of  places  he  was 
authorized  to  visit.  He  arrived  not  only  in  safety,  but  with  his 
health  actually  improved  by  the  journey;  thus  showing  that 
the  sad  results  of  the  journey  of  Messrs.  Hinsdale  and  Mitchell, 
over  the  same  route,  were  entirely  owijig  to  the  lateness  of  the 
season.  He  left  Beirut  in  a  British  schooner,  for  Iscanderun, 
February  24;  commenced  the  land  journey  to  Aleppo  on  the 
29th,  and  arrived  there  March  4.  Setting  out  again  on  the 
9th,  with  a  new  muleteer,  he  passed  through  Bir  on  the  11th, 
Orfah  on  the  loth,  and  on  the  19th  reached  Diarbekr.  Thence 
he  went  by  postrhorses,  one  day,  to  Mardin ;  and,  starting  from 
that  place  on  Monday  the  25th,  he  arrived  at  Mosul  on  Friday 
morning. 

In  a  lettcf  to  the  writer,  dated  October  loth,  lSb'2,  Dr.  Lay- 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  ,  o87 

ard  sa3^s  :  "  As  you  are  writing  of  Dr.  Grant,  1  trust  you  will 
not  forget  the  mention  of  another  man,  early  removed  from  his 
career  of  usefulness,  but  who  has  done  as  much  as  any  man  to 
promote  the  great  work  going  on  in  the  East,  and  who  was  con- 
nected with  several  of  your  missions.  I  mean  the  late  Dr. 
Smith,  with  whom  I  enjoyed  friendly  intercourse  on  several 
occasions."^  It  would  be  pjeasant  to  accede  to  this  request,  and 
speak  of  that  good  man  more  at  length ;  but  this  volume  has 
already  exceeded  its  limits,  and  I  can  cnly  say  that  the  first 
impression  he  made  deepened  to  the  very  last. 

With  characteristic  precision,  he  had  vrritten  from  Mardin,  to 
say  when  we  might  expect  him  ;  and,  as  Dr.  Grant  was  indis- 
posed, Mr.  L.  rode  out  to  conduct  him  into  the  city.  It  was 
a  beautiful  morning  i»  spring,  the  air  was  exhilarating,  and 
his  errand  no  less  ,so.  Anticipating  the  delight  of  welcoming 
another  brother  to  the  little  band,  so  often  bereaved,  he  rode 
rapidly  along ;  and  when  he  descried  him  in  the  distance,  could 
not  resist  the  impulse  to  give  the  reins  to  his  horse,  and  rush 
to  meet  him.  But  his  eager  welcome  was  met  in  such  a  sober, 
matter-of-fact  way,  as,  for  a  moment,  disconcerted  him ;  but  only 
for  a  moment.  They  were  soon  as  familiar  as  children  of  the 
same  mother ;  and  the  stranger,  intent  on  only  one  object,  — 
how  he  could  do  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  good,  —  was  at 
once  a  brother  beloved.  Such  as  he  was  then,  so  was  he 
always.  Never  excited,  never  depressed,  —  doing  nothing  in  a 
hurry,  and  never  allowing  a  moment  to  pass  unimproved.  He 
pursued  the  chief  end  of  man  with  a  steadiness  that  rebuked  the 
inconstancy  of  others,  and  an  energy  that  was  best  understood 
by  those  who  stood  between  him  and  that  end.  Ease  or  diffi- 
culty, obstacle  or  aid,   seemed  alike  to  that  unwavering  Yv'ill. 

*  Compare  "  Babylon  and  Nineveh,"  p.  406,  where  Mr.  Layard  not  only 
speaks  of  "the  late  excellent  and  enterprising  Dr.  Smith,  and  the  esti- 
mable Dr.  Grant,"  but  also  makes  honorable  mention  of  other  missionaries 
of  the  Arnevican  Board  in  western  Asia. 


388  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

And  yet  there  was  nothing  har^^h,  nothing  repulsive.  li'he  ever 
appeared  so,  it  was  only  to  those  who  did  not  know  him. 

I  see  him  now,  conversing  with  a  visitor.  He  has  turned  the 
conversation  into  a  religious  channel,  and  lays  aside  his  specta- 
cles as  he  listens  patiently  to  some  long  objection.  Then,  with 
a  "  Pek  ae-ee.  Umma  banna  baq  "  ("very  good,  but  listen  to 
me,"  —  literally,  "  look  at  me  "),  he  annihilates  the  objection  as 
quietly  as  though  he  only  spoke  about  the  weather ;  or  clears  up 
the  difficulty  so  tlioi-oughly  that  the  inquirer  is  ashamed  that  he 
called  it  such. 

If  he  liad  not  all  of  Dr.  Grant's  enthusiasm,  he  vras  equally 
fearless  in  doing  vrhatever  u'ould  promote  the  glory  of  God. 
And  if  not  possessed  of  the  ready  tact  that  made  a  good  impres- 
sion at  the  first,  in  the  end  it  was  not  less  favorable  or 
abiding.  Dr.  Grant  won  you  before  you  dreamed  of  being  won ; 
Dr.  Smith  quietly  took  your  weapons  out  of  your  hand,  as  j^ou 
raised  them  in  self-defence,  telling  you  there  was  no  occasion  for 
them ;  and  in  neither  case  did  you  ever  regret  that  you  were 
taken  captive. 

In  another  thing  Dr.  Smith  differed  from  the  subject  of  this 
memoir ;  and  that  v/as,  in  the  prudent  provision  he  made  for 
his  own  wants.  While  Dr.  Grant  traversed  the  mountains 
with  very  little  provision  for  his  own  necessities.  Dr.  Smith, 
when  first  met  by  his  associate,  was  wrapped  in  an  India- 
rubber  cloak,  that  had  sheltered  him  from  the  showers  on 
the  way.  His  legs  were  cased  in  felt,  that  answered  the 
same  purpose ;  and  a  pair  of  holsters  on  his  saddle,  well  filled 
with  bread,  served  alike  for  provender  and  protection.  Still, 
we  must  not  forget  that  Dr.  Grant  was  a  pioneer  in  an  unknown 
and  dangerous  region,  and  care  about  such  things  might  have 
interfered  with  his  success. 

The  work  at  Aintab  owes  no  little  of  its  unusual  success  to 
the  labors  of  Dr.  Smith.  As  an  evidence  of  this,  I  will  make  a 
tingle  extract  from  a  letter  dated  Aintah,  Oct.  8,  1850  : 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11  I  A  N  S  .  389 

"  Yesterday  our  first  property-tax,  as  a  distinct  people,  was 
paid.  It  amounted  to  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  piastres ;  and  the  registry  upon  which  it  was  made  reports 
two  hundred  and  eighty-six  males  in  our  Protestant  community. 
The  governor  and  council  agreed  that  three  hundred  piastres  of 
this  might  be  paid  per  week ;  and  that  sum  w^as  paid  accordingly  fov 
eight  weeks,  when  the  pasha  came  with  soldiers,  and  demanded 
of  all  sects  their  tax  at  once.  The  Protestants,  thei-efore,  paid 
their  remaining  dues ;  and,  while  all  other  sects  are  imprisoned 
by  scores,  not  one  of  them  is  troubled.  All  this  was 'done  with- 
out one  para  (tenth  of  a  cent)  of  aid  from  us;  though,  in  all  the 
details  of  business,  —  levying  the  tax  and  securing  its  collection, 
—  I  '  go  ahead,'  and  tell  them  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it. 

"  By  the  way,  —  excuse  my  suggesting  it,  — may  you  not  be 
personally  deficient  in  leading  forward  your  people  in  this  par- 
ticular? oTganiziyig  them  into  missionary  societies,  appointing 
collectors,  talking  with  them  of  their  duties,  &c.  &c.  You  know 
we  are  to  organize^  as  well  as  lead  on  the  hosts  of  God's  elect. 
Not  one-tenth  of  what  we  do  would  have  been  done,  if  I  had  not 
put  my  shoulder  to  the  work  of  organization;  and  I  suggest  the 
thought,  hoping  that  you  will  appreciate  the  spirit  in  which  it  is 
made." 

If  every  minister  would  carry  out  this  "  suggestion  "  of  our 
departed  brother,  the  cause  of  Christ  need  nevfo.-  be  straitened. 
Is  this  thing  thought  of  as  it  should  be  ? 
32 


CHAPTEPx    XIX. 

PLAN    TO    RETURN   TO   AMERICA LETTERS  —  SICKNESS  AND   I  EATH FUNE- 
RAL  TROUBLE- ABOUT  TOMB-STONE POSTHUMOUS  USEFULNESS LETTERS 

FROM   MR.   PERKINS    AND  DR.  WRIGHT ADDRESS   OF   NESTORIAN   PUPIL 

TESTIMONY    OF  MR.  BADGER LETTERS    FROM    HON.  MU.  LAYARD  AND  REV. 

D.    W.    MARSH NOTICE     OF     MISSION     AFTER     DEATH     OF     DR.    GRANT  

DEATH    OF    CHILD    OF    MRS.    HINSDALE LETTF.RS    OF    MICHA SUCCESSORS 

OF   DR.   GRANT   AT   MOSUL,    AND    IN    THE   MOUNTAINS FATE    OF  OPPOSERS 

CONCLUSION. 

While  Dr.  Grrant  mourned  over  the  disasters  of  the  Nesto- 
rians,  he  was  yet  further  afflicted  with  news  from  home.  His 
children  again  needed  a  father's  care.  Some  of  their  guardians 
had  died  ;  and  he  thus  writes,  March  1,  to  his  eklest  son  : 

"  My  Very  Dear  Son  :  When  I  received  your  favor  of  Sep- 
tember 9,  I  wrote  to  Dr.  Anderson,  then  at  Constantinople,  who 
says,  in  rep}}^  '  I  think  you  had  better  go  home  and  look  after 
your  children,  after  you  shall  have  had  the  necessary  con- 
ferences with  Mr.  L.  and  Dr.  Smith,  at  Mosul.'  On  reading  this 
my  heart  was  full,  and  I  passed  almost  a  sleepless  night,  though 
the  opinion  was  not  unlooked  for.  The  prospect,  though  distant, 
of  seeing  you  and  my  other  dear  sons  once  more,  affected  me 
more  deeply  than  I  can  express.  I  had  long  been  weighed  down 
with  anxiety,  particularly  for  your  brothers,  from  whose  guard- 
ians I  had  received  accounts  awakening  all  the  anxious  feelings 
of  a  father's  heart ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  untold  wants 
and  woes  of  thousands  ready  to  perish  appealed  to  those  tender 
chords  that  should  ever  vibrate  in  the  Christian's  heart.  AYhat 
should  I  do  ?  An  answer  to  this  oft-repeated  question  had  now 
come.     Strong  as  were  the  claims  of  the  perishing,  of  widows 


DR.    GRANT     AND     THE     NESTORIANS.  391 

and  orphans  around  me,  there  are   others  who  have  a  stronger 
claim  on  their  father's  care.     The  claim  of  mj  children  has  not 

been  forgotten,  nor  can  it  ever  be 

"  It  would  be  pleasant  to  look  forward  to  a  quiet  home  in 
America,  with  my  children  about  me ;  but,  though  the  thought 
that  I  have  none  detracts  from  the  pleasure  of  the  prospect,  it 
does  not  from  my  desire  to  return." 

March  22,  1844,  lie  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gridley,  then  the 
guardian  of  his  son  Edwin,  but  who  has  since  gone  to  his  reward  : 

"  You  will  doubtless  have  learned  from  Dr.  Anderson  that  he 
has  advised  me  to  return  to  look  after  my  children.  '  It  is  quite 
evident,'  he  says,  'that  they  all  need  their  father's  presence  for 
a  time.'  You  will  not  wonder  at  his  advice,  as  I  know  it  is  also 
3'our  own  opinion.  The  thought  of  leaving  here  is  more  trying 
than  I  had  anticipated;  for,  even  now,  I  have  attentive  assem- 
blies, on  the  Sabbath,  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred,  and  many 
opportunities  for  doing  good  during  the  week.  But,  perhaps  I 
can  be  better  spared  now  than  at  any  other  time ;  at  least,  1 
must  go  for  a  season." 

The  day  after,  he  wrote  to  his  mother  as  follows  : 

"  My  Precious  Mother  :  I  write,  not  knowing  where  a  letter 
may  find  you ;  but,  wherever  you  are,  to  assure  you  of  the  warm 
affection  with  which  you  are  ever  regarded  by  3'our  absent  son, 
and  the  pleasure  I  feel  in  the  thought  of  again  beholding  the 
face  of  my  mother.  Yes,  ray  dear  mother,  yqur  son  will  soon 
return,  if  the  Lord  will,  to  cheer  you  in  the  decline  of  life.  How 
long  I  may  remain,  should  I  live  to  see  my  dear  native  land, 
Providence  must  decide.  But,  if  I  can  in  any  way  comfort  my 
dearest  mother,  it  will  go  far  to  make  amends  for  the  pain  of 
our  long  separation.  May  He  who  styles  himself  the  widow's 
God  watch  over  and  bless  you  !  My  heart  is  too  full,  when  I 
think  of  my  lone  mother,  to  allow  me  to  say  much  of  myself. 


392  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

But  jcu  will  not  be  uninterested  to  know  that,  while  my  health  is 
not  at  any  time  good^  and  while  I  feel  the  need  of  a  respite  from 
care,  I  am  now  in  comparative  comfort,  and  free  from  any  great 
bodily  pain.  I  feel  at  times  the  weight  of  past  trials,  and  the 
deep  afflictions  of  my  dear  Nestorians.  You  have  heard  of  their 
dreadful  suifcrings,  and  prayed,  perhaps  wept,  over  them.  Poor, 
afflicted  people  !  it  pains  me  to  think  of  leaving  them.  But  my 
own  children  must  receive  a  father's  care,  and  be  made  to 
feel  a  father's  love.  Nor  is  this  altogether  unespected.  When 
I  consented  to  return  so  soon  to  these  lands,  it  was  with  the 
express  understanding  that  my  children  would  perhaps  render 
a  subsequent  visit  necessary.  Should  I,  therefore,  be  per- 
mitted, in  the  discharge  of  my  paramount  duty  to  them,  to  see 
you  again  before  we  pass  oyer  the  Jordan  of  death,  this  will  bo 
a  privilege  I  have  rather  longed  for  than  hoped  to  enjoy.  But 
the  prospect  now  is  that  I  may  once  more  enjoy  it,  in  the  course 
of  the  coming  autunni.     Till  then,  my  dear  mother,  flu'ewell." 

Little  did  he  think  that  the  meeting  he  so  ardently  desired 
would  be  a  meeting  before  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
Mrs.  Hinsdale,  with  her  little  boy,  born  Feb.  6,  1843,  needed 
to  return  to  America  ;  and,  after  Dr.  Smith  had  arrived,  and  we 
had  consulted  together  about  future  operations,  his  plan  was  to 
return  with  her  to  his  native  land, 

With  these  prospects  before  liim,  he  was  watching  over  the 
sick,  and  preaching  the  gospel  to  all,  —  little  dreaming  that  he 
was  doing  his  last  work. for  the  people  he  loved  as  missionary 
has  seldom  loved  the  strangers  for  whom  he  labored.  Many 
of  them  confessed  that  he  cared  for  them  more  than  they  did  for 
one  another.  Few  sorrowed  over  their  own  bereavements  more 
tlian  he  dir".  over  the  miseries  of  a  people  who  had  conferred  on 
him  but  one  favor  —  the  opportunity  of  doing  them  good. 

The  same  disease  that  had  proved  so  fatal  among  them  now 
seized  upon  him,  and  his*  constitution  was  too  much  enfeebled  to 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  393 

resist  its  power.  The  malady  from  which  he  sufiered  so  much 
af  Oroomiah  had  never  wholly  left  him  ;  and  his  hardships  in 
the  mountains,  joined  to  his  strong  sympathy  with  the  distresses 
of  the  Nestorians,  had  so  aggravated  the  disease  that  scarce  a 
^yeek  passed  without  its  day  of  sickness.  If  it  did,  the  attack 
was  only  more  severe  in  proportion  to  the  delay.  At  such 
times,  after  his  stomach  had  rejected  all  food,  he  could  only  lie 
down  and  rest  till  exhausted  nature  gathered  strength  enough 
to  carry  him  through  another  interval  of  comparative  healtli. 
And  so  com.menced  his  last  sickness,  four  or  five  days  after  the 
arrival  of  Dr.  Smith,  whom  God  seemed  to  have  sent  on  purpose 
to  minister  to  his  dying  servant.  He  who  had  been  so  often 
alone  in  the  mountains  Vv^as  brought  among  friends,  and  provided 
with  the  kind  nursing  of  Mrs.  Hinsdale,  and  the  excellent  pro- 
fessional services  of  Dr.  Smith,  in  his  hour  of  need.  On  Friday, 
April  5,  he  complained  of  being  unwell,  and  went  to  the  bath ; 
but  without  finding  relief  Sick  as  he  was,  he  v/rote  that  day  to 
his  son  Edwin,  as  follows  : 

"  My  Ever  Dear  Son  :  I  am  happy  to  hear  that  so  many 
feel  a  lively  interest  in  your  welfare.  But,  while  truly  grateful 
for  this,  I  cannot  forget  the  stronger  ties  that  bind  us  together. 
Nor  could  you,  my  son,  doubt  for  a  moment  the  warm  love  I 
"^eel,  did  you  know  the  yearnings  of  my  heart  towards  you,  and 
now  greatly  I  long  to  see  you.  That  strong  desire  I  now  hoj)e 
will  be  gratified;  and  I  trust  the  gratification  will  not  1)e  so 
transient  as  in  my  former  visit.  We  then- saw  each  other  eo 
little,  that  it  was  tantalizing  rather  than  satisfactory,  I  was 
such  a  stranger  that  you  hardly  knew  me ;  and  then  my  visit 
was  so  hurried  that  you  must  have  felt,  when  we  parted,  that  I 
was  still  almost  a  stranger. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  both  you  and  Hastings  are  making 
such  proficiency  in  your  studies ;  but  I  feel  most  solicitous  tha* 
you  should  both  learn  the  one  important  lesson  of  love  to  God. 
32^ 


394:  DR.    GRANT     AND     THE 

"The  wars  that  hcivc  laid  waste  the  homes  of  the  poor  Ne«- 
torians  are  still  scarcely  hushed.  Even  in  the  inclemency  of 
their  mountain-winter  a  village  has  been  sacked  and  burned. 
About  twenty  were  killed,  and  many  were  taken  jDrisoners.  But, 
in  the  midst  of  all  these  commotions,  we  are  safe  under  the 
protecting  power  of  God.  •  His  arm  has  been  our  shield  through 
every  danger,  and  we  trust  Him  still  and  ever."  *' 

These  are  the  last  words  he  wrote ;  and  the  letter,  in  some 
places,  gives  evidence,  in  its  disjointed  style  and  frequent 
omissions,  of  the  eifort  it  cost  to  write  it. 

Sabbath  morning  he  sat  at  the  table  with  us  for  the  last  time ; 
and  on  Monday  resorted  to  active  measures  to  break  up  the  fever 
that  had  already  commenced.  This  he  found  impossible ;  and, 
three  days  after,  resigned  himself  entirely  to  the  medical  care 
of  Dr.  Smith.  On  the  11th,  the  post  brought  additional  letters 
from  the  guardians  of  his  children ;  and,  perhaps  owing  to  the 
excitement  of  this,  next  day  he  became  worse ;  and  so  continued, 
growing  weaker,  till,  Saturday  night,  diarrhoea  set  in,  and  re- 
duced him  still  more.  The  following  Sabbath  he  seemed  to  have 
a  deep  sense  of  our  need  of  strong  confidence  in  God  in  this  time 
of  trial,  and,  calling  Dr.  Smith  to  his  bed-side,  requested  him  to 
pray  in  behalf  of  the  mission  and  the  poor  Nestorians.  He  then 
offered  prayer  himself,  as  he  lay  ;  —  nothing  uncommon  in  the 
blessings  sougixt,  nothing  strange  in  expression,  but  uttered  with 
such  a  holy  fervor  as  gave  new  force  to  the  most  familiar  words. 
He  began,  saying,  "  Lord,  we  are  not  worthy  to  ask  anything 
from  thee ;  but  thou  hast  invited  us  to  come,"  and  closed  with 
"  All  these  things  we  ask  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Dr.  Smith  said,  afterwards,  "  It  seemed  as  though  I  had  never 
known  the  depth  of  meaning  contained  in  these  expressions 
before." 

Surely  that  fervent,  effectual  prayer  of  the  dying  missionary 
was  not  unheard  ;  a  id  blessings  may  yet  descend  in  answer  to 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  R- 1  A  N  S .  395 

it,  as  dcubtless  tliej  have  clesceii^-ed  already,  upon  those  father- 
less children  and  that  ancient  church.  As  yet,  no  one  appre- 
hended danger ;  but  Monday  came,  and  reason  had  fled.  He 
knew  not  that  he  was  leaving  earthly  friends  till  he  found  him- 
self, as  we  trust,  among  the  redee.med  above.  He  was  kindly 
spared  the  knowledge  of  danger  and  death  till  they  were  all 
passed,  and  passed  forever.  Disconnected  sentences,  half- 
uttered  thoughts,  shut  out  his  associates  from  intercourse  with 
their  dying  brother.  True,  a  smile  greeted  their  entrance  i^ito 
the  room  ;  but  strange  thoughts  broke  in  upon  his  words  of 
welcome.  The  hand  was  stretched  out,  but,  ere  it  was  grasped 
in  theirs,  the  mind  had  lost  all  recollection  of  the  act.  And  yet 
there  was  no  wi]{iness  or  excitement,  but  a  quiet  and  kindly 
incoherence.  A  smile  was  ever  on  the  face  ;  and,  if  your  ques- 
tion was  unanswered,  you  had  instead  the  utterance  of  the  happy 
thought  that  moment  in  his  mind.  At  times  he  was  studying 
the  comfort  of  his  widowed  companion,  on  her  long  journey  to 
the  coast;  and  once,  mistaking  the  languor  of  disease  for  the 
weariness  of  a  day's  travel,  he  asked  how  long  he  might  remain 
and  rest.  "Just  as  long  as  you  wish,"  replied  his  attendant,— 
for  one,  if  not  both  tif  us,  was  generally  at  his  side.  "  No,"  said 
he;  "I  wish  just  as  the  Lord  pleases,  —  no  more.  Ah  !  these 
days  !     I  don't  know  —  don't  kiioAV  !  —  these  days  !  " 

His  children  were  often  in  his  thoughts.  "  My  dear  children  ! 
God  will  take  care  of  them.  God  will  take  care  of  them,  and 
the  cause  in  which  their  father  is  embarked  !  "  Then  he  would 
call  them  b}^  name,  and,  as  if  his  call  was  answered,  invite  us 
near,  and  embrace  us,  rejoicing  in  a  reunion  not  to  be  realized 
on  earth.  Next  to  the  cause  of  Christ  they  were  uppermost  in 
his  thoughts.  The  last  letter  he  ever  wrote  was  to  them.  And 
one  whose  grave  he  now  shares  used  to  say  that,  during  his  fre- 
quent illnesses,  she  could  never  comfort  him  so  much  as  when 
she  expressed  an  interest  in  them,  and  let  the  kind  father  speak 
of  thoso  he  loved. 


3l)6  UR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

Sometimes  he  was  pleading  the  cause  of  his  Master  beff  re  the 
churches  at  home.  But  oftener  he  was  again  in  the  mountaint:, 
telling  the  Nestorians  of  a  compassionate  Saviour  and  heavenly 
comforter.  Or,  addressing  the  desolate  few  in  Mo:^ul,  daily 
thinned  by  death,  and  longing  for  the  mountain  home  many 
were  never  to  see  again ;  "  free  grace,"  "  a  Father's  hand,"  and 
"  mansions  prepared  for  those  that  love  him,"  told  of  the  themes 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  present  before  them. 

When  he  thought  himself  alone  in  the  closet,  "  Jesus,  my 
Saviour, — my  only  Saviour!  Yes,  there  is  my  Saviour!  I  hope, 
ill  infinite  mercy,  through  Christ,  my  only  Saviour,"  were  the 
words  that  revealed  the  basis  of  his  hope.  Not  deaths  oft  Ijraved 
for  Jesus'  sake,  no  v\"orthiaess  of  his  own,  but  a  precious  atone- 
ment, revealing  infinite  mercy  for  the  lost,  was  his  favorite  theme. 

And  so  he  lay  seventeen  long  days,  the  same  smile  on  hif.  wast- 
ing features,  the  same  utter  absence  of  complaint.  He,  who 
had  loved  to  do  good  to  all,  knew  not  how  all  classes  sympathized 
with  him.  And,  when  he  died,  though  we  looked  anxiou--ly  for 
a  moment  of  reason,  none  came ;  and  we  knew  not  whether  that 
last  smile  was  still  unmeaning,  or  told  of  the  entrance  into  the 
joy  of  his  Lord. 

Thus  he  died,  on  Wednesday,  April  24th.  Death  had  often 
lifted  his  hand  to  strike,  and  as  often  had  he  pressed  on  calmly, 
"  enduring  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible."  Grod  honored  the  con- 
fidence of  his  servant ;  and  now  from  a  quiet  resting-place  be  took 
him  to  Himself  in  a  tmie  of  peace.  He  was  not  cut  ofi  in  the 
momitaius,  lest  any  should  think  that  God  forsakes  the  soul  that 
trusts  in  his  protection,  or  some  future  missionary  be  r.fraid, 
when  called,  like  him,  to  fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body. 
We  may  be  comforted,  also,  that  he  did  not  die  at  home.  For 
the  grief  of  his  aged  mother  and  his  children  could  not  have  jon -e 
such  a  testimony  to  the  power  of  a  holy  life  as  did  the  tears  of 
the  Turkish  governor,  and  the  multitude,  who  could  restrain 
n©  ther  their  sobs  nor  their  commendations  round  his  grave     Not 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  397 

devout  men  alone  made  great  lamentation  over  him.  Some  of  the 
people  rebuked  us,  because,  they  said,  while  all  Mosul  was  in 
tears,  we  alone  did  not  weep.  All  ranks  and  religions  watched 
the  progress  of  his  disease  with  aifectionate  anxictj.  The  French 
consul  visited  him  daily ;  the  Kaimakam,  then  acting  governor 
of  the  city,  came  also  in  person  to  inquire  for  him.  On  hearing 
of  his  death,  Mar  Shimon  said,  "  My  country  and  my  people  are 
gone  !  Now  my  friend  is  gone  also,  and  nothing  remains  to  me 
but  God!" 

Let  us  thank  God  that  his  body  lies  in  the  field  of  his  labors, 
to  remind  the  people  of  his  life,  and  the  blessed  Saviour,  who 
was  the  source  of  all  that  made  it  lovely!  Let  no  one  repine 
because  he  was  not  allowed  to  give  us  his  views  of  the  mission- 
ary work,  as  he  viewed  it  from, the  gate  of  heaven.  Let  us  rather 
thank  God  that,  as  he  said  of  another,  his  life  did  not  leave  us 
dependent  on  the  comfort  of  a  death-bed  testimony. 

And  yet  he  did  leave  a  testimony  more  than  usually  precious. 
We  expect  the  dying  believer  will  speak  of  Jesus,  and  of 
heaven.  But  when  reason  is  dethroned,  and  spiritual  desires 
still  shine  out  upon  us  from  the  departing  spirit ;  when  the  wan- 
dering thoughts  wander  to  the  cross;  whei^  the  inquiry,  "  What 
do  you  want  ?  "  brings  back  the  reply,  "  Pardon,  through  Christ. 
Thou,  0  Saviour,  art  my  only  hope  ;  "  what  greater  comfort  can 
we  ask  ?  Such  words  come  unstudied.  The  soul  did  not  mean 
to  utter  them  ;  but  its  deep  emotions  move  the  lips  by  their  own 
intensity,  and  we  listen  to  words  not  designed  to  make  an  im- 
pression, but  revealing  the  true  character  of  the  unconscious 
spirit.  We  may  grieve  that  we  were  not  recognized ;  but  we 
rejoice  that  the  pang  of  separation  was  unknown,  and  love  to 
think  of  the  heaven  that  broke  suddenly  on  the-  ransomed  spirit,- 
opening  its  eyes  on  the  glory  round  about  the  throne,  and 
wondering  how  ii  entered  that  abode  of  bliss. 

One  fact  in  his  protracted  delirium  deserves  to  be  recorded. 
Though  speaking  almost  constantly  on  many  topics,  in  three  dif- 


398  1)  K  .     GRANT     AND     T  H  K 

ferent  languages,  —  that  is,  English,  Turkish  and  Syriac,  —  he 
did  not  utter  a  single  word  he  would  have  been  ashamed  of  after- 
wards. His  associates  listened  to  those  disclosures  of  his  secret 
heart,  and  wondered  that  nothing  appeared  they  would  have 
wished  to  conceal. 

The  day  after  his  death,  his  funeral  was  attended  by  all  the 
Franks  in  the  city.  The  Jacobite  priests  and  bishops,  and  the 
Nestorian  Patriarch,  with  his  priests,  read  portions  of  sciipture 
at  the  church,  and  his  bereaved  associates  offered  prayer  ;it  the 
house  and  at  the  grave.  The  mountaineers  mourned  as  for  their 
dearest  earthly  friend.  Some  of  the  people  wept  aloud,  as  the 
procession  passed  along  the  streets ;  and  at  the  grave  a  large 
concourse  assembled,  to  pay  him  their  last  tribute  of  respect. 
Ther6,  it  might  have  been  said,  as  truly  as  at  tlie  grave  jf  the 
Scottish  Reformer  :  "  Here  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face 
of  man."  His  body  was  laid  in  the  same  tomb  with  that  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Hinsdale  and  Mrs.  L.  The  place  is  marked  by  a  tomb- 
stone, erected  by  him  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Hinsdale,  partly  by 
the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  Those  afterwards  prepared  for 
him  and  Mrs.  L.  were  not  allowed  to  be  set  up.  The  veason 
assigned  was  apprehension  lest  their  erection  should  give  the 
Americans  some  right  of  possession  in  the  church  ;  but  the  real 
reason  was  probably  very  different. 

I  shall  not  attempt  a  formal  delineation  of  the  character  of 
Dr.  Grrant,  as  a  man  or  a  missionary.  That  is  best  learned  from 
the  preceding  record  of  his  life.  Thus  much  I  will  say,  he  did 
not  live  in  vain.  His  hand  is  withdrawn,  but  the  iiiipr.lse  it 
imparted  still  remains.  Not  one  of  his  sufferings  was  endured 
for  naught,  and  no  danger  braved  for  Jesus'  sake  but  still  glori- 
fies his  Saviour. 

The  Kurds  will  never  forget  the  man  who  kept  his  word,  and 
vf  ent  about  doing  good  to  friend  and  foe  ;  and  when  future  mis- 
sion iries  seek  to  lead  them  also  to  Jesus,  his  memory  wil  ■  pre- 
par )  the  way  before  them,  and  lend  force  to  each  exposition  of 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  399 

the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  His  kind  feelings  towards 
them  were  thus  expressed,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Anderson,  a  few 
weeks  before  his  death  :  "  For  the  poor  benighted  Kurds,  whom 
God  has  employed  as  his  chastening  rod,  let  our  prayers  arise, 
'  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.'  lake  persecuting  Saul,  they 
think,  in  their  delusion,  that  they  are  doing  Grod  service." 

The  Nestorians  will  never  forget  him.  For  his  sake  they  have 
welcomed  other  missionaries,  notwithstanding  the  rage  of  their 
own  Patriarch.  His  name  will  not  soon  perish  from  their  tradi- 
tions. The  story  of  what  Dr.  Grant  dared  and  endured  in  their 
mountain  home  shall  nerve  Nestorian  missionaries,  in  future 
ages,  to  be  fliithful  unto  death.  The  sands  and  snows  of  Tar- 
tary  did  not  intimidate  their  ancestors.  From  China  to  Abys- 
sinia, and  from  Siberia  to  Malabar,  they  were  in  labors  abun- 
dant. They  roved  with  wandering  tribes,  and  settled  down  in 
the  cities.  All  Asia  witnessed  their  zeal ;  all  classes  enjoyed 
the  benefits  of  their  labors.  Dr.  Grant,  in  this  generation, 
stands  like  a  beacon  on  their  own  mountains,  to  point  them  to 
these  worthy  deeds  of  other  days,  and  remind  them  that  they  too 
may  emulate  their  ancestors,  in  more  fiivorable  circumstances, 
and  with  more  permanent  success. 

From  his  advanced  position,  also,  he  beckoned  to  Christians  at 
home  to  look  at  the  broad  fields  to  be  won,  and  the  means  pro- 
vided, in  the  providence  of  God,  for  winning  them  to  Christ.  The 
eye  of  the  church  still  follows  his  direction ;  and  the  longer  she 
looks,  the  more  she  sees  to  rouse  her  to  efibrt.  Things  invisible  to 
him  on  earth  slowly  evolve  from  the  mists  of  the  future ;  and, 
ever  as  the  horizon  enlarges,  it  is  more  full  of  hope.  Beyond  the 
battles  to  be  fought,  victories  and  triumphs  beckon  us  onward. 

That  these  are  not  mere  empty  words,  will  appear  from  the 
testimony  of  other  missionaries  and  also  of  men  disconnected  with 
the  missionary  work.  Says  Mr.  Perkins,  in  a  letter  already 
quoted  more  than  once :  "  Multitudes  here,  to  this  day,  repeat 
his    name,    with    gratitude    and    veneration,    from    impressions 


400  1)  U  .     C4  R  A  N  T     AND     THE 

received  almost  twenty  years  ago.  His  deep  piety  and  earnest 
zeal  for  their  salvation  also  made  a  strong  impression  on  hun- 
dreds of  the  Nestorians ;  though  he  was  not  permitted  to  see 
them  savingly  affected,  as  many  have  been  during  the  revivals 
enjoyed  since  his  death. 

"In  the  prosecution  of  the  arduous  and  perilous  mountain  en- 
terprise, the  strong  traits  of  his  character  were  most  strikingly 
developed.  Among  the  ferocious  Kurds,  and  the  hardly  less  wild 
Nestorians,  his  great  personal  courage,  his  calmness  amid  thick- 
ening dangers,  his  unyielding  perseverance  in  the  face  of  diffi- 
culties, his  distinguished  skill  in  the  healing  art,  and  his  remark- 
able tact  in  winning  confidence  and  respect,  had  ample  scope, 
and  commanded  universal  admiration. 

"No  less  interesting,  if  less  conspicuous,  were  his  lively  faith 
under  discouragements,  and  his  untiring  efforts  to  make  known 
the  way  of  salvation,  by  word  and  deed,  at  all  times  and  in  all 
situations,  till  laid  upon  the  bed  of  death.  But  I  did  not  intend 
to  dwell  on  his  heroic  labors  in  the  mountains.  I  would  only 
record  the  sincere  satisfaction  which  I  have  felt  on  hearing  his 
name  repeated  with  affectionate  veneration  long  after  his  death, 
as  I  stood  over  his  grave  at  Mosul,  wandered  among  the  ruins 
of  Nineveh,  and  threaded  the  deep  gorges  or  scaled  the  snowy 
heights  of  Kurdistan,  as  well  as  on  the  plains  of  Persia  A 
precious  harvest  is  yet  to  rise  from  his  grave.  His  body  mould- 
ers on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  but  his  memory  is  fi-agrant 
in  all  these  regions.  Many,  both  in  time  and  eternity,  will 
rise  up  and  call  him  blessed.  The  hard  mountain  field,  which 
drew  so  largely  on  his  ardent  sympathies,  his  bodily  energies, 
and  his  fervent  prayers,  will,  we  believe,  in  due  time,  bud  and 
blossom  as  the  rose,  and  not  a  tear  he  shed  over  it,  nor  an 
effort  he  there  put  forth,  will  be  lost  or  forgotten. 

'  That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end.' 

"  I  often  wonder  why  I,  who  enterprl  ihe  field  before  him,  am  still 


M  0  U  N  'J'  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  R  I  A  N  S  .  401 

spared,  unprofitable  servant  as  I  am  ;  unless  it  be  that  I  have  so 
much  more  tardily  and  imperfectly  fulfilled  my  stewardship." 

His  successor  in  Oroomiah  —  Dr.  Wright  —  says,  "He  was 
held  in  very  high  estimation  by  all  classes.  In  Persia,  I  have 
heard  the  prince  and  peasant  speak  his  praise;  and  in  Kurdis- 
tan the  Kurd  and  Nestorian  alike  dwell  upon  his  excellence.  In 
the  castle  of  the  emir,  in  the  mansion  of  Mar  Shimon,  and  in  the 
hovel  of  the  poor  Tyarian,  I  have  noticed  their  veneration  for  his 
character.  His  memory  is  very  precious  to  us  here.  I  occupy 
his  house ;  much  of  my  furniture  was  his ;  here  his  sainted  wife 
closed  her  earthly  career,  and  the  room  in  which  I  now  write  was 
his.  I  am  constantly  reminded  of  him,  and  I  love  to  cherish  his 
memory," 

That  this  feeling  was  not  confined  to  the  missionaries  is  touch- 
ingly  evinced  in  the  following  extract  of  an  address  delivered  by 
Sanum,  one  of  the  pupils  of  the  Female  Seminary  at  Oroomiah, 
at  its  anniversary,  in  1852.  She  is  the  daughter  of  a  mountain- 
eer, and  is  now  a  valuable  helper  of  Mrs.  Coan  in  the  mission 
station  at  Gawar.  After  some  beautiful  remarks  on  parting,  she 
thus  proceeds : 

"  And  now,  before  we  give  the  right-hand  of  separation  for 
this  year,  it  is  good  that  we  renew  the  wings  of  our  loving 
thoughts,  send  them  to  the  years'  that  are  past,  and  see  where 
rests  the  dust  of  some  of  the  dear  teachers  of  this  school.  Listen  ! 
there  comes  a  voice  :  '  They  are  not  to  be  found  among  the  liv- 
ing.' Yes,  the  place  of  one  is  empty  here,  and  of  another  there. 
Then,  where  are  they  ?  Ah !  thou,  0  country,  art  a  witness  that 
they  have  pressed  thy  soil.  Ye  blessed  winds,  I  hear  you  answer, 
They  have  parted  !  And  ye,  green  leaves  of  time,  are  true  wit- 
uesses  that  they  are  to  be  found  among  the  numbered  dead. 
But  where  shall  we  find  them  ?  A  wide  distance  is  put  between 
them.     We  must  visit  one  ^  that  first  put  her  hand  upon  the 


*  Mrs.  Grant, 
33 


402  D  li  .      G  U  A  N  T     A  N  D      V  II  E 

head  of  some  of  us  to  bless  us  ;  and  though  we  remember  hei-not, 
she  many  times  embraced  us  in  the  arms  of  love,  and  carried  us 
before  a  throne  of  grace.  Yes  ;  she  was  one  oi' the  Jirst  that  left 
all  her  friends  behind,  and  ploughed  the  mighty  waves  of  ocean, 
that  she  might  come  to  Oroomiah's  dark  border.  Though  the 
fierce  tempests  and  heavy  waves  raised  themselves  above  the  ship, 
her  prayers,  mingled  with  love  for  the  Nestorians,  ascended  higher 
still,  and  overcame  all.  At  the  foot  of  Mount  Ararat  she  doubt- 
less remembered  the  bow  of  promise ;  and  the  consolations  of  her 
heart  were  renewed,  when  she  thought  of  it  as  a  prophecy,  that  a 
company  of  the  fallen  daughters  of  Chaldea  should  rise  up  and 
become  heirs  of  glory.  She  so  labored  that  the  Lord  is  reward- 
ing her,  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 

"  But,  though  with  such  holy  zeal  she  engaged  in  her  work, 
her  journey  was  short.  Some  of  us  had  not  seen  our  eighth 
summer  when  those  lips,  on  which  was  written  wisdom,  were 
still,  and  that  tongue,  on  which  dwelt  the  law  of  kindness,  was 
silent  in  death.  Now  she  rests  in  this  church-yard.  She  sleeps 
with  our  dead,  and  her  dust  is  mingled  with  the  dust  of  our  With- 
ers, till  that  day  when  she  shall  rise  to  glory,  and  a  company  of 
ransomed  Nestorians  with  her. 

"  But  where  is  that  other  dear  friend  of  our  school,"^  who  was 
the  beautiful  staff  of  her  support  ?  Yes,  he  encouraged  her  to  labor 
for  us,  while  many  of  us  w^ere  as  yet  unborn.  His  heart  was 
large  enough  to  love  e'v'ery  son  and  daughter  of  our  people.  He 
sowed  with  many  tears,  and  gave  himself  for  the  Nestorians. 
Shall  we  not  believe  that  the  fruits  of  his  labors  have  sprung  up 
among  us  ?  Then  let  us  search,  —  where  is  he  ?  Let  us  go 
f  ilently,  silently,  and  stand  above  that  ancient  city,  Nineveh,  and 
ask  it.  Where  is  he  ?  It  will  direct  us  :  '  Lo,  he  rests  on  the  banks 
of  the  noble  Tigris.'  Would  that  our  whisper  might  reach  the 
ear  of  the  wild  Arab  and  cruel  Turk,  that  they  walk  gently  by 
that  stranger  grave,  and  tread  not  on  its  dust !     Then  shall  we 

*  Dr.  Grant. 


MOUNTAIN     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  403 

think  no  more  of  it  ?  No  !  with  a  firm  hope,  we  expect  that 
those  mountains  on  which  his  beautiful  feet  rested  shall  answer 
nis  name,  in  echoes,  one  to  the  other ;  and  the  persons  who  saw 
his  faithful  example  there  shall  mingle  in  the  flock  of  his  Saviour. 

"  No,  ye  are  not  lost,  ye  spirits  made  holy ;  but,  as  it  was 
necessary  that  some  should  come  here  to  labor  from  a  distant 
land,  so  ye  were  necessary  in  heaven,  to  do  a  greater  work. 
We  believe  that  ye  are  doing  more  than  ye  could  have  done 
here.  Yes,  that  ye  are  a  part  of  that  great  company  of  witnesses 
that  encompass  us  to-day.  Then,  loved  ones,  we  would  not  call 
you  thence  ;  —  cling  closely,  and  more  closely,  to  the  bosom  of 
your  Saviour,- till  we  too,  through  free  grace,  shall  share  in  your 
glory  !  " 

Mar  Yohanna  had  written,  in  June,  1844:  "When  we 
heard  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Grant  we  felt  very  sorry,  —  not  for 
his  death,  for  he  built  his  house  upon  the  rock  ;  it  will  not  flill ; 
it  will  not  move.     But,  alas!  he  left  his  work  unfinishing." 

On  hearing  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Grant,  Dr.  Anderson  wrote  : 
"  The  mournful  event  awakens  much  feeling  in  the  churches,  and 
well  it  may.  Let  us  pray  that  it  may  work  for  good  to  the 
cause  so  near  the  heart  of  our  departed  brother  !  " 

But  there  is  one  testimony  to  the  piety  of  Dr.  Grant  that  must 
not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  Just  before  Mr.  Badger  left  Mosul, 
he  gave  a  beautiful  copy  of  Bagster's  Sabbath-school  Treasury 
to  Dr.  Smith,  who  had  attended  on  his  dying  mother  ;  and  in  a 
note  accompanying  it  wrote  as  follows :  "  I  had  left  it  out  for  Dr. 
Grant ;  but  the  Lord  whom  he  served  has  seen  fit  to  call  him  to 
Himself,  where  none  of  the  least  of  his  good  works  will  remain 
unrequited." 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Layard,  whose  connection  with  Assyria  is  too 
well  known  to  need  to  be  repeated,  thus  writes,  Oct.  13,  1852  : 
*'  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  preparing  a  memoir  of  Dr.  Grant, 
whose  memory,  as  a  sincere  and  devoted  Christian,  a  zealous  and 
enterprising  missionary,  and  a  most  amiable  man,  ought,  by  all 


404  DR.     GRANT      AND      THE 

means,  to  be  perpetuated  among  his  countrymen.  It  would  be 
difficult  for  me,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  note  the  actual 
expressions  used,  with  reference  to  him,  by  those  who  knew  him 
in  the  East.  I  have  heard  Mussulmans  bear  witness  to  his 
charitable  and  trul}^  liberal  character,  which  led  him  to  extend 
the  benefit  of  his  skill  to  all,  willioiit  reference  to  sect,  or  pros- 
pect of  reward;  and  I  have  frequently  heard  him  designated, 
both  by  Kurds  of  the  wild  districts  of  the  mountains,  and  by 
Mohammedans  of  Mosul,  as  '  the  good  doctor.'  You  know,  far 
better  than  I  do,  his  unremitting  attentions  to  the  poor  Nesto- 
rians  during  their  misfortunes.  It  v/ould  be  truly  extraordinary 
if,  notwithstanding  the  general  absence  of  gratitude  in  the  East, 
they  were  ungrateful  to  him.  I  have  always  heard  him  spoken 
of  by  the  Christians  of  Tyary,  as  well  as  by  those  of  Mosul,  in 
the  most  affectionate  terms.  But,  perhaps  the  best  evidence 
that  could  be  adduced  of  his  high  and  amiable  qualities  is  the 
general  respect  with  which  he  was  regarded  by  Europeans  of 
all  classes  and  religious  opinions,  during  a  time  when,  as  you 
are  well  aware,  there  was,  unfortunately,  no  very  Christian  or 
charitable  feeling  abroad.  M.  Botta,  with  whom  I  was  all  that 
time  in  constant  correspondence,  continually  wrote  of  Dr.  Grant 
as  of  a  man  who,  by  his  liberal  and  truly  Christian  conduct, 
was  an  honor  to  the  Redeemer.  Even  those  gentlemen  who 
were  most  opposed  to  his  mission,  and  did  their  utmost  to  thwart 
his  success,  —  using,  it  must  be  confessed,  not  very  scrupulous 
means,  —  were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  his  aid  and  experi- 
ence, and  have  borne  a  high  testimony  to  his  character." 

The  Rev.  B.  ^Y.  Marsh,  of  Mosul,  writes  as  follows,  October 
7, 1852  : 

"  Mr.  Rassam,  the  English  vice-consul,  told  me  that  he  v/as 
often  asked  by  Moslems,  who  knew  Br.  Grrant,  When  will  an- 
other be  sent  to  take  his  place  ?  Indeed,  I  hardly  ever  saw  Mr. 
R.,  during  my  first  year  in  Mosul,  without  his  making  some 
allusion  to  his  great  usefulness,  the  high  estimation  in  which  he 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  405 

was  held  by  all  classes,  and  the  great  importance  of  a  physician 
to  take  his  place.  It  was  owing  to  my  representations  on  this 
point,  together  with  those  of  Dr.  Bacon,  that  Dr.  Lobdell  was 
sent  to  join  Mr.  Williams  and  myself  at  Mosul. 

"  Mrs.  Rassam,  ^ho  is  widely  known  to  all  who  have  visited 
the  ruins  of  Nineveh  as  a  lady  of  remarkable  energy  and  influ- 
ence, and  possessing  an  unusual  familiarity  with  public  business, 
has  often  expressed  her  high  sense  of  the  noble  character  and 
great  usefulness  of  Dr.  Grant. 

"  Persons  in  places  as  widely  separated  as  Telkeif,  Jczira 
and  Mardin,  have  spoken  to  me  in  extravagant  terms  of  Dr. 
Grrant ;  and,  after  making  all  due  allowance  for  oriental  hyper- 
bole, enough  remains  to  show  that  a  man  who  excites  such 
rapturous  praise  so  long  after  his  death  must  have  had  a 
character  fitted  to  make  a  deep  impression. 

"When  a  captive,  with  Dr.  Bacon  and  his  son,  among  the 
Kurds,  we  found  chiefs  who  had  heard  of  his  reputation  ;  and 
one  remembered  him  as  the  only  Frank  he  had  ever  seen. 

"  Mrs.  Schneider  has  told  me  that  a  wealthy  Armenian,  of 
Broosa,  whose  life  was  once  saved  by  Dr.  Grant's  professional 
skill,  to  this  very  day  loves  all  Americans  for  his  sake. 

"  I  have  never  seen  Dr.  Grant  myself;  and,  were  I  to  give 
impressions  received  from  missionaries  who  loved  him,  it  might 
seem  a  biased  eulogy;  but  I  have  an  impression  derived  frciii 
the  living  words  and  tones  of  native  Christians,  Moslems  and 
Kurds,  high  and  low,  —  an  impression  vivid  and  well  defined, 
—  that  he  was  a  most  remarkable  man.  The  image  thus  formeil, 
to  a  commanding  figure,  and  great  nobleness  of  manner,  adds  .-o 
frank  and  manly  a  life,  a  policy  at  once  so  courteous,  open,  and 
yet  firm,  that  men  conceived  for  him  at  once  an  enthusiastic 
regard.  Fearless,  even  to  an  extreme;  full  of  faith,  even  to 
enthusiasm  ;  shrinkhig  from  no  hardship  ;  at  home  in  the  Kurd- 
ish castle,  the  Nestorian  hut,  or  the  palace  of  the  pasha ;  — 
everywhere  a  Christian  and  a  Christian  teacher.  Whether  with 
33^ 


406  DR.     GRANT     AND     TUE 

the  PatriarcK  or  his  servant,  inculcating  the  same  universally- 
adapted  truth.  A  man  in  advance  of  the  slow  pace  of  the 
church,  with  a  faith  to  attempt  all  things,  whose  bones  will  be 
wept  over,  and  his  memorial  set  up,  when  the  great  army  comes 
to  the  spot  where  he  fell." 

I  will  not  weary  the  reader  with  the  detail  of  occurrences 
after  his  death  ;  and  yet  one  scene  may  not  be  left  unnoticed. 
Mrs.  Hinsdale,  owing  to  the  death  of  Dr.  Grant,  had  not  returned 
to  America  as  she  expected,  and  the  delay  proved  the  occasion 
of  a  fresh  affliction.  Her  little  boy,  who  bore  his  father's  name, 
pined  away  for  mouths  under  the  pitiless  heat  of  summer.  He 
had  centred  in  himself  all  the  aifection  that  else  had  been 
bestowed  on  both  ;  but  neither  affection  nor  unremitted  attention 
could  avail  to  save  him.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  nio-ht  he 
died.  It  was  in  the  middle  of  July,  when  the  thermometer,  every 
day,  was  above  one  hundred,  Falir.,  and  at  night  not  far  below  it. 
Dr.  Smith  and  the  writer  slept  on  a  roof,  on  one  side  of  the  court; 
and,  separated  by  the  wall  that  surrounded  it,  Mrs.  Hinsdale, 
her  Arab  maid,  and  little  Abel,  occupied  another.  It  was,  as  it 
always  is  there  in  summer,  a  clear,  cloudless  night.  The  stars 
looked  down  on  us  as  we  slept.  At  midnight  we  heard  the  girl 
shriek,  and,  conjecturing  the  reason,  —  for  we  had  long  expected 
it,  though  not  much  had  been  said,  —  Dr.  Smith  hurried  over. 
He  felt  for  his  pulse,  but  there  was  none.  He  put  his  hand  on 
his  little  heart,  and,  when  it  ceased  to  beat,  he  told  the  mother. 
She  heard,  and,  replying  "  The  Lord  can  take  better  care  of  him 
than  I  can,"  turned  to  her  companion,  and  quieted  the  wild  out- 
burst of  oriental  grief  The  little  stranger,  who  had  numbered 
only  seventeen  brief  months  in  a  world  of  sorrow,  was  laid  by 
the  side  of  his  sister,  not  far  from  the  grave  of  his  father  and 
the  rest ;  and  his  mother  kept  on  the  even  tenor  of  her  way,  as 
if  her  child  had  not  died,  but  only  been  taken  out  of  her  arms 
into  the  bosom  of  the  heavenly  Shepherd. 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  407 

After  his  death,  ->re  all  went  to  Sheikh  Adi,  and  .spent  a  i'ew 
days  among  its  pleasant  groves  and  fountains.  Then,  between 
the  latter  part  of  August  and  the  middle  of  September,  Dr.  Smith 
and  Mr.  L.  made  a  tour  through  the  mountains  as  far  as  Ber- 
chulla  ;  and,  after  that,  as  there  was  no  prospect  of  being  able 
soon  to  resume  labors  in  that  field,  and  the  missionaries  at 
Oroomiah  would  be  ready  to  enter  as  soon  as.  the  door  was  likely 
to  be  opened,  they  reluctantly  turned  away  from  what  had  been 
indeed  a  scene  of  trial,  but  endeared  by  the  most  sacred  associ- 
ations. Eight  missionaries  had  gone  there,  and,  of  that  number, 
only  three  lived  to  return.  The  mission  had  met  with  many 
reverses ;  —  probably  few,  in  so  short  a  time,  ever  experienced 
so  many.  Its  beginning  was  full  of  promise  ;  and  yet,  in  little 
more  than  three  years,  it  was  suspended  :  but  not  long.  God 
did  not  lead  his  servants  there  to  toil  and  die  in  vain.  The 
leaven  still  continued  to  leaven  the  lump,  after  those  who  had 
cast  it  in  had  been  called  away.  '  Micha,  especially,  though  left 
alone,  continued  faithful.  His  light  shone  brigl^tly  in  his  own 
city ;  and  his  letters  to  young  men  of  his  acquaintance,  full  of 
Christian  instruction  and  consolation,  found  their  way  even  to 
Aleppo  and  Beirut.  He  maintained,  also,  a  correspondence  with 
one  of  the  missionaries ;  and,  as  some  may  like  to  know  the 
spirit  of  the  converts  in  Mosul,  a  few  extracts  from  his  letters 
are  here  submitted  to  the  reader. 

In  his  first  letter  he  says :  "  I  try  to  throw  off  all  fear ; 
and  I  think  I  know  something  of  that  sweet  saying  of  the 
beloved  John,  '  There  is  no  fear  in  love  ; '  and  I  know  that 
nothing  can  separate  me  from  His  love.  Though  some 
persecute  me,  it  is  enough  if  I  only  have  grace  to  do  His  will. 
I  would  be  ready  even  to  die  for  Him  who  died  for  me.  It  i 
Christ  alone  I  ought  to  please ;  and  he  who  builds  his  house  on 
that  rock  is  secure  against  all  storms  and  floods.  I  try  to  urge 
all  to  repent,  without  any  fear  of  man.  Some  confess  that  I 
speak  the  truth  ;  but,  alas !  they  produce  no  fruit.     But  I  have 


408  DR.      GRANT     AND     THE 

hope  that  the  grain  of  wheat,  if  it  fall  into  the  ground  and  die, 
will  not  remain  alone." 

The  writer  can  almost  see  him  as,  after  one  of  our  bereave- 
ments, in  Mosul,  he  stole  gently  into  the  room,  and,  in  his  quiet 
waj,  half  afraid  to  renew  grief,  and  yet  longing  to  comfort, 
repeated  that  same  thought,  intimating  that,  just  as  the  seed 
must  die  in  order  to  produce  the  increase,  so  the  body  just  laid  in 
the  grave  would  not  only  rise  again,  but  rise  with  others,  brought 
to  the  enjoyment  of  eternal  life  through  its  death.  He  adds: 
"  Pray  for  me,  that  God  would  keep  me  from  sloth  [he  is  feeble, 
and  suffers  exceedingly  from  the  heat  of  summer] ;  remove 
fi'om  me  entirely  the  love  of  the  world ;  and  enable  me,  in  my 
loneliness,  to  be  perfect  in  his  service ;  for  I  am  all  alone.  I 
long  to  impart  to  others  that  which  God  has  given  me,  and  that 
is,  the  revelation  of  his  dear  Son,  sent  down  from  heaven,  cruci- 
fied in  my  stead,  that  he  might  save  me  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
How  shall  I  describe  the  greatness  of  my  obligation  to  praise 
him  for  this  grace  ?  One  thing  I  know,  and  that  is,  that  every- 
thing is  from  God,  even  faith  also.  Salvation  is  from  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ.  All  is  from  him,  and  by  him,  to  whom  be 
glory  and  blessing  forever  ! 

"  Dear  brother,  the  work  is  great,  and  we  have  no  power  to 
turn  a  single  soul  to  God.  The  sorrow  and  grief  of  my  heart 
does  not  cease  while  I  see  so  many  souls  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  every  day  some  of  them  dying  without 
turning  to  Christ.  -  What  Christian  can  see  or  hear  of  such  a 
sight,  and  not  weep  ?  Pray  for  me,  that  1  may  have  grace  to 
instruct,  and  that  they  may  believe !  " 

1 1  a  letter  dated  Sept.  30,  18-19,  he  gives  the  following 
account  of  himself  : 

"  I  was  born  in  the  year  1816.  My  parents  were  poor;  and, 
with  the  neglect  of  spiritual  things  so  universal  here,  they  taught 
me  nothing   except  the  way  in  which  I  was  to  earn   my  bread. 


]\r  0  U  N  T  A  I  N     N  E  S  T  0  11 1  A  N  S  .  400 

In  1828  the  plague  raged  in  Mosul,  and  swept  away  near  forty 
thousand  souls,  my  father  among  the  rest ;  and  I,  too,  was  seized 
by  the  same  disease.  But  the  mo^t  High  God,  blessed  be  his 
name!  saved  me  from  death;  for  he  had  designs  of  mercy 
toward  me,  —  even  to  give  me  salvation,  through  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  in  his  own  chosen  time. 

"  When  I  was  fourteen  years  of  age  I  felt  that  I  was  a  sinner, 
and  would  soon  die,  and  go  to  hell,  —  just  as  '  Christian  '  felt, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  book  of  Bunyan,  —  and  I  knew  not  what 
to  do ;  for  I  had  no  one  to  tell  me  of  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ. 
When  I  sought  for  justification  through  good  works  and  religious 
3bservances,  my  conscience  found  no  rest.  I  was  directed  to 
confess  to  the  priest,  and,  like  the  rest,  I  did  so ;  but  it  profited 
me  nothing. 

"Two  years  after,  I  sought  to  learn  to  read;  and  the  people 
'aughed  at  me,  and  mocked  me,  —  repeating  the  proverb 

'  Baad  ma  sar  shab,  yereed  yitaalim  el  Ketab  ' 

(After  he  has  become  a  young  man  he  would  learn  to  read) ;  for 
my  people  think  that  if  a  man  does  not  begin  to  learn  when  he 
is  five  years  old,  he  never  can  succeed.  And  when  they  saw  that 
I  did  learn,  they  were  gi-eatly  astonished. 

"  Then  I  became  exceedingly  zealous,  like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  for 
my  sect;  thinking  that  we  only  were  sure  of  salvation,  and  all 
else  were  in  error.  And  I  disputed  Vv^armly  about  things  I  had 
no  knowledge  of.  I  had  heard,  indeed,  of  the  Bible ;  but  never 
could  obtain  one,  till,  when  God  willed  it,  the  missionaries  came 
to  Mosul,  and  brought  it  with  them.  Then  I,  and  many  others, 
read  it ;  and  as,  in  the  light  of  God's  word,  I  saw  my  guilt,  I 
told  you  very  often  how  I  feared  on  account  of  my  sins,  and  you 
comforted  my  heart ;  — telling  me, '  Christ  has  died  in  your  stead, 
and  what  more  is  wanting  after  that  ? '  Then  I  cast  myself 
wholly  on  Him ;  and  my  heart  rested ;  and  I  desired  that  every- 
body should  come  to  Him.     And  now  I  have  no  sadness,  only  at 


410  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE 

the  sight  of  sinners  who  will  not  come  to  Him,  that  they  may  be 
saved. 

"  At  that  time  you  said  many  things  to  me  I  could  not  very 
well  understand ;  but,  after  you  had  gone,  and  I  continued  to 
study  the  Bible,  praying  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  would 
explain  to  me  the  things  that  were  difficult,  thanks  to  his  great 
name.  He  heard  my  request ;  and  the  gospel  caused  me  to  recol- 
lect and  understand  the  things  you  used  to  say  to  me.  Then, 
3^our  letters  were  a  great  help,  and  the  Arabic  and  English 
books  I  have.  Yet  all  would  have  availed  nothing,  but  for  the 
grace  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  Nor  am  I  now  any- 
thing ;  but,  in  his  mercy,  he  visited  me,  and  prepared  me  for 
the  gift  of  faith  in  his  dear  Son ;  —  me,  the  sinner,  unworthy  to 
receive  anything  at  his  hand.  Indeed,  I  think  in  myself  that, 
though  I  should  bring  the  whole  world  to  obey  him,  yet  that, 
too,  would  be  the  work  of  His  power  and  mercy,  and  not  mine, 
that  I  should  deserve  anything  on  account  of  it.  Of  Him  and 
to  Him  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  make  other  extracts,  did  space  permit ; 
but  these  are  enough  to  show  the  spirit  in  which  he  held  fast  the 
beginning  of  his  confidence,  far  from  all  Christian  sympathy, 
and  a  stranger  among  his  own  people  because  of  his  attachment 
to  the  truth.  He  supported  himself  by  his  old  trade  till  the  gift 
of  a  set  of  watch-maker's  tools,  from  a  benevolent  lady  in  Bos- 
ton, enabled  him  to  set  up  that  business;  at  which,  I  believe, 
he  still  continues,  though  in  failing  health.  In  one  of  his  last 
letters,  he  writes  :  "  I  do  not  expect  to  live  long ;  but,  I  trust, 
I  have  a  sure  hope  in  Christ,  and  that  I  shall  go  where  I  shall 
rest  from  sin  and  suffering.  I  shall  sec  the  Lamb,  slain  for  me, 
and  meet  those  with  whom  is  the  testimony  of  Jesus ;  and  them, 
also,  who  loved  me,  and  prayed  for  me  in  this  world,  where  I 
could  not  see  them." 

This    young    man    formed  the    connecting-link    between    the 


MOUNTAIN     NESTORIANS.  411 

mission  to  the  mountain  Nestorians  and  the  present  mih^ion  to 
Assyria.  The  report  of  his  piety  and  Uibors  led  Messrs.  Perkins 
and  Stocking  to  visit  Mosul  in  May,  1849.  The  Rev.  J.  E. 
Ford,  of  Aleppo,  was  sent  there  in  November  of  the  same  year, 
and  remained  laboring,  amid  much  encouragement,  till  April  10, 
1850.  Before  leaving,  he  purchased  a  house  for  a  Protestant 
place  of  worship;  and  in  this,  and  the  preliminary  steps  for  the 
formation  of  a  Pi-otestant  comnumity,  he  enjoyed  the  counsels 
of  Rev.  D.  W.  jMarsh,  who  had  just  arrived  in  this  scene  of  his 
future  labors.  Long  may  he  be  spared  to  prosecute  them,  and 
see  his  bright  hopes  of  the  coming  harvest  even  more  than  real- 
ized !  He  has  since  been  joined  by  Rev.  W.  F.  Williams,  and 
Rev.  H.  Lobdell,  M.D.,  v/ith  their  families, —  the  former  in 
May,  1851,  and  the  latter  a  year  afterward;;.  The  seed  sown 
in  tears  is  now  being  reaped  in  joy.  A  little  church  was 
formed  Nov.  3,  1851 ;  and,  if  the  spirits  of  the  departed  are 
allowed  to  look  down  on  the  scene  of  former  toils,  they  that 
sowed  rejoice  together  with  them  that  reap,  and  often  fall  down 
before  the  Lamb  to  praise  Him,  not  only  for  grace  all-sufficient 
on  earth,  but  for  each  new  evidence  that  not  the  smallest  effort 
put  forth  in  the  service  of  Christ  has  been  in  vain. 

While  these  cheering  events  occur  around  the  grave  of  Dr. 
Grant,  others,  no  less  encouraging,  transpire  in  the  mountains. 
Repeatedly  have  they  been  traversed  by  his  former  associjvtes. 
Those  valleys,  that  echoed  the  shrieks  of  the  slaughtered  Nesto- 
rians, have  again  listened  to  the  announcement  of  salvation 
through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  feet  of  them  that  bring 
good  tidings  are  again  beautiful  on  those  mountains.  Being 
dead.  Dr.  Griint  yet  speaketh,  and  shall  speak,  through  all  those 
scenes  of  his  lonely  toil. 

In  August,  1851,  a  station  was  established  in  Gawar,  not  far 
from  the  place  where  he  first  met  Mar  Shimon ;  and  the  little  boy 
who  assisted  in  carrying  his  baggage  to  the  canal-boat,  in  Utica, 
in  1835,  now  preaches  the  gospel  there  to  the  Nestorians.  ' 


412  DR.     GRANT     AND     THE     NKSTORIANS. 

While  God  is  thus  showing  that  the  kibors  of  his  servant  arc 
had  in  remembrance  before  the  throne,  those  who  opposed  them 
have  been  dealt  with  in  a  manner  no  less  worthy  of  our  notice. 

Nurullah  Bey,  instead  of  enjoying  his  bloody  conquest,  fled 
from  castle  to  castle,  after  leaving  his  stronghold  at  Julamerk  in 
the  hands  of  the  Turks,  till  he  was  taken  captive  by  the  very 
power  whom  he  aided  to  destroy  the  Nestorians ;  and  now  pines 
in  hopeless  captivity,  far  from  the  scenes  of  his  former  power. 

Badir  Khan  Bey,  after  failing  in  one  of  his  favorite  night- 
attacks  on  the  Turkish  army  sent  against  him,  was  taken  pris- 
oner in  his  own  castle  of  Derguleh,  and  now  despairs  of 
deliverance  from  his  island  prison  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago. 

Suleiman  Bey,  who  professed  friendship  for  Dr.  Grant  only 
to  prevent  his  strengthening  the  emir,  after  cruelly  persecuting 
some  Nestorian  evangelists,  was  driven  off  to  a  like  captivitj' ; 
but  died  on  the  road,  with  his  latest  breath  calling  on  one  of  his 
followers  to  sing  a  favorite  melody  of  his  native  hills. 

It  only  remains  to  be  said  that,  of  the  three  who  left  Mosul, 
Oct.  22,  1844,  Dr.  Smith  has  since  entered  into  rest  from  amid 
the  wonderful  displays  of  grace  at  Aintab ;  Mrs.  Hinsdale  is 
still  in  the  missionary  field,  at  Constantinople;  and  the  writer, 
unworthy  of  that  privilege,  here  ends  his  sad  yet  joyful  remin- 
iscences of  beloved  ones  now  before  the  throne  of  God. 

May  the  Master  whom  they  served  accept  this  contribution  to 
the  blessed  cause  in  which  they  died  ! 


INDEX 


Agapse,  136. 

Aikin,  Dr.  S.  C,  21,  22. 

Ain  Sifneh,  293. 

Ainsworth,  Mr.  William.  —  His  intercourse 
with  Mar  Shimon,  151-153.  His  map  and 
river  Berdizawi,  257,  258.  Rope  bridges, 
264. 

Aiutab,  68,  388. 

Akra,  125, 126. 

Alarm  in  Ashitha,  320. 

Albakh,  235,  236. 

Amadia,  127,  296-300. 

America,  visit  to,  166,  169. 

Anderson,  R.,  D.D.,  403.—  Letters  to.  —  Dr. 
Grant  offers  himself  to  the  Board,  27,  33. 
His  medical  practice,  64.  His  proposal  to 
enter  the  mountains,  92.  His  faith  in  dis- 
couragement, 346.  His  proposition  to  labor 
in  mountains  after  the  massacre,  367-369. 

Animals  in  Kurdistan,  295. 

Antique  bust,  186. 

Arabs,  194, 199. 

Arbela,  219.    ' 

Ark,  place  of,  340. 

Arzaleh,  137, 185,  254. 

Ashitha. —  Population,  &c.,  137.  Peace-mak- 

34 


ing  and  Sabbath-keeping,  189.  Churcijet 
and  priests,  260.  Patriarch  and  fitness  for 
missionary  station,  261.  Desolated  by 
Zeiner  Bey,  361. 

Assassinate,  plot  to,  Dr.  Grant,  281. 

Athanasius,  Bishop,  204,  214,  217,  219,  281. 

Auraham,  Kasha,  136,  315, 

Avalanches,  245,  247. 

Baasheka,  121. 

Badger,  G.  P.,  Rev.  —  His  "  hypothesis," 
244.  Erroneous  assertion,  261.  Apocry- 
pha, 281.  His  own  account  of  his  course, 
282-285.  How  regarded  by  his  own 
church,  2S5.  Labors  with  Micha,  370.  Dr. 
Grant's  cpurse  toward  him,  284,  371-375. 
Mode  of  his  opposition,  281,  286,  370,  382. 
Testimony  concerning  Dr.  Grant,  403. 

Badii-  Khan  Bey,  105.  —  Sends  spies  to  Ash- 
itha, 314,  328.  Dr.  Grant  goes  to  visit 
him,  322.  His  oppression  of  Christians, 
329.  Dr.  Grant  spends  ten  days  with  him 
on  Mount  Jtidi,  333-340.  His  massacre  of 
the  Nestorians,  353-356.  His  own  fate,  412. 

Baho,  217,  235,  237,  267. 

Bash  Kala,  148,  159,  163. 


414 


I  NDEX. 


Castawa,  292. 

Beadle,  Rev.  E.  R.,  195,  196. 

Bebozy,  295. 

Bell,  church,  in  Jelu,  182. 

BerchuUa,  2o7. 

Berkho  Malek,  347,  348. 

Bei-wer  Shawina,  162. 

Beth  Garmse,  124. 

Biblp-class  in  Mosul,  378,  379. 

Birth-place  of  Dr.  Grant,  1. 

Botta,  Mons.  P.  E. —Testimony'  concerning 
Turkish  oppression,  209-211.  His  amia- 
bility and  kindness,  290.  Persecuted  by 
the  pasha,  375. 

Braintrim,  18-20. 

Bridge  at  Mosul,  119. 
"       mountain,  253,  264. 

Building  in  Tyary,  316. 

Burdasoor  Castle,  82. 

Captives,  treatment  of,  357. 

Caravan  fort,  44. 

Causes  which  led  to  the  massacre,  104,  105, 
372-376. 

Celibacy  among  Nestorians,  139. 

Charreh,  228,  232. 

Chesney,  Colonel,  127,  209,  264. 

Childhood  of  Dr.  Grant,  15, 16. 

Children  of  Dr.  Grant,  letters  to,  78-80, 
154,  157,  390,  393. 

Children,  missionary,  166. 

China,  Nestorians  in,  51. 

Cholera,  73,  74. 

Christian  character  of  Dr.  Grant,  24,  95. 

Chumba,  Malek  of.  —  First  visit  of  Dr. 
Grant  to,  138,  139.  Second  visit,  254. 
Losses  in  1842,  321.  Slain  by  Badir  KLan 
Bey,  351. 

Circumcision,  Kfirdish,  328. 
"  of  Yezidees,  121. 

Climate  of  Mosul,  201,  202. 


Climate  of  mounUins,  229,  307. 
Commissariat  of  Dr.  Grant,  327,  341. 
Conolly,  Capt.,  115. 
Constantinople,  usefuhiess  in,  37,  33. 
Conversion  of  Dr.  Grant,  17. 
Cooking,  Nestorian,  245,  254. 

"  Kflrdish,  326. 

Courtesy  between  missionary  societies    366. 
Crane,  Rev.  E.  H.,  35, 411, 
Crops  in  Tyary,  134. 
Curiosity  of  Nestorians,  240. 

Dahar,  pass  of,  44,  107. 

Daughters  of  Dr.  Grant,  death  of,  155,  156- 

Decision  to  be  a  missionary,  24-26. 

Deed  of  real  estate,  Sj'Tiac,  265-267. 

Deir  Zefran,  113,  206. 

Dergfileh,  333,  338. 

Derrek,  Mount,  147. 

Dervishes,  171. 

Deshtany,  301. 

Dey,  325. 

Diarbekr,  111,  197. 

Diet  of  mountaineers,  182. 

Diss,  slaughter  in,  348,  349. 

Doctrines  of  Nestorians,  55,  56. 

Dress  of  Nestorians,  134. 

"       "  Badir  Khan  Bey,  339. 
Duree,  Bishop  of,  130,  350. 

Easter  in  Ashitha,  311-314. 

Education  of  Dr.  Grant,  14-17. 

Eldership  of  Dr.  Grant,  18,  22. 

Embarkation  of  Dr.  Grant,  35. 

Emir  of  Hakkary.  —  Position,  104.  First  in- 
terview with  Dr.  Grant,  148.  AUiance 
with  Tm-key,  164,  373.  Alliance  with 
Persia,  228.  Expedition  against  Amadia, 
238,  240.  Life  in  camp,  243,  244.  Jeal- 
ousy of,  2;3,  262.     Expedition  fails,  263. 


INDEX 


415 


In  BAbtan  with  Badir  Khan  Bey,  333-336. 
His  agency  in  the  massacre,  104,  105,  228, 
335,  336,  372,  373.     His  fate,  411. 

Entrance  into  Tyary,  131,  132. 

Erbll,  219. 

Erzruni,  108. 

Evening'  meetings  in  Oroomiah,  85. 

Exactions  in  Mosul,  209. 

Famine,  172. 

Fasts,  189. 

Fearlessness  of  Dr.   Grant,  16,  93,  118,  178, 

192,  249,  271,  368. 
Feast  in  Ashitha,  311-314. 
Female  readers  among  Nestorians,  139,  231. 
"      seminary  at  Oroomiah,  84,  140,  401. 
"      missionaries,  30,  31. 
Fierceness  of  Nestorians,  139,  317,  318,  324 
Fu-mans  refused,  319,  335. 
Ford,  Rev.  J.  E.,  411. 
Fountains  in  Ashitha,  261. 
Fruits  in  Jelii,  182. 

"      "    Kurdistan,  295. 
Funeral  of  Dr.  Grant,  398. 
Furniture  of  Nestorians,  133. 
Gawar,  411. 
Geli  Mazukah,  300. 
Geography,  Nestorian,  145. 

"  of  mountains,  127,  257. 

Georgifln  among  the  Kflrds,  338. 
Grant,  Mrs.  E.  L.,  17-19. 

"        "      J.  S.,  education,  32,  33. 

"         "     labors  in  Oroomiah,  84-86. 
"        "         "     death  of,  97-101. 
Greene,  Rev.  D.,  371. 
Gridley,  Rev.  W.,  letters  to,  173,  174,  179 

391. 
Gugerchine  Kala,  82. 
GAndfiktha,  244. 


Health  of  Dr.  Grant.  —  In  Oroomiah,  94,  96. 


At  Mardin,   112.     At   Constantinople,  in 
1841, 168.  In  mountains,  271, 277, 319, 337, 
346.     In  Mosul,  286. 
Heat  of  Mosul,  201,  202. 
Heiyo,  249,  250. 
Heroine  of  Bastawa,  292. 
Herlush  Kurds,  162,  2-59,  260. 
Hierarchy,  Nestorian,  147. 
Hinsdale,  Rev.  A.  K.  —  Embarkation,  167. 
Trials   on    journey  to     Mosul,    195-200. 
Tour  among  villages,  214.     Situation    in 
Mosul,  215.    Visit  to  Ashitha,  268*.     Sick- 
ness and  death,  279-281. 
Hinsdale,  Mrs.  S.  C,  392. 

"  "  death  of  her  son,  406. 
Homes,  Rev.  H.  A.  —  Appointed  to  go  with 
Dr.  Grant  to  Mesopotamia,  102.  Detained 
at  Constantinople,  108.  Arrives  at  Diar- 
bekr,  111.  Perils  at  Mardin,  113.  Return 
to  Constantinople,  114. 
House  in  Oroomiah,  45. 

"       "  Ashitha,  264-267,  306-303,  360. 
Houses  in  Tyary,  1.33,  311. 

of  rich  in  Mosul,  293. 

Interview  with  the  emir,  Dec.  1842,  274. 
Intolerance,  Moslem,  331,  332,  336. 

"  papal,  385,  386. 

Invasion,  second,  360-362. 
Ira  Grant,  letters  to,  81,  171,  286. 
Ismael  Pasha,  216,  276,  334,  336. 


Jacobites,  203-205. 

Jealousy  of  Nestorians,  182,  188,  262. 

"  "  emir,  238,  262. 

Jelu,  mountains  of,  180, 181, 
Jews,  205,  212,  298-300,  328. 
Jezira,  330,  331. 
Jones,  Rev.  W.,  letters  to,  168. 
Mrs.,  letters  to,  318,  383 


li(3 


INDEX 


A  Mi,  Mou  It,  332,340. 

Julamerk,  160,  273-277. 

Kala  el  Hawa,  273. 
"  Kiiinry,  325. 
"     'd  Seringa,  146. 

KaufU  Kileeseh,  236. 

Kasha  Mendo,  128,  283. 
"        Auraham,  136,  315. 

Keli  Shin,  225. 

Kesta,  324. 

Khan,  42. 

"      Mahmud,  335. 

Khorsabad,  210,  289. 

Khosrova,  230. 

Klndnes.s  in  Kurdistan,  161,  162. 

Kochannes,  237. 

Knrds,  103. 

"        encounter  with,  175. 

Kdrdish  repast,  243. 

Labors  in  Oroomiah,  75. 

Laurie,  Mrs.  M.  F.,  379-382. 

Layard,  Hon.  A.  II.  —  His  route  of  Xeno- 
phon,  .333.  Description  of  the  death  of 
the  IMalek  of  Chumba,  351.  Description 
of  scene  of  slaughter  at  Lezan,  361.  Com- 
mendation of  Dr.  Smith,  387.  Letter  con- 
cerning Dr.  Grant,  403,  404. 

Leaky  roofs,  316. 

Leaving  mountains,  350,  351. 

Letter  to  New  York  Observer,  372-376. 

Leviathan,  145. 

Lezan,  136, 187,  304. 

Lobdell,  Rev.  H.,  68,  411. 

Lord's  Supper  among  Nestorians,  135. 

Lost  Tribes,  58, 167. 

Maklilb  Mount,  122-124,  291.. 
Malasgird,  174. 
Malik  Kassim  Mh-za,  74, 101. 
Manners  of  Nestorians,  260. 


Manners,  clerical  among  Nestorians,  263. 

Mardin,  sickness  in,  112. 
"  sedition  in,  113. 

Mar  Mattai,  122-124. 
"     Sawa,  354,  355. 

Mar  Shimon.  —  Fkst  interview  with  Dr 
Grant,  145, 146.  His  lodgings  at  Ashitha, 
305,  306.  Jealousies  between  him  and  his 
people,  344.  Testimony  to  the  benefits 
derived  from  the  influence  of  Dr.  Grant 
with  Badir  Khan  Bey,  356.  Flight  to  Mosul, 
356.  Residence  there,  376,  377.  Attends 
funeral  of  Mrs.  L.,  381,  and  of  Dr.  Gnuil, 
398. 

Mar  Yoosuf,  231,  240,  244,  263,  270. 

Mar  Yohanna,  63,  255,  403. 

Marsh,  Rev.  D.  W.  —  Description  of  scenery 
in  Kurdistan,  222.  Letter  concerning  Dr. 
Grant,  404-406.     In  Mosul,  411. 

Massacre  at  Diss,  348-349. 
"  "  Chumba,  351,  352. 

"  "  Serspidho,  354,  355. 

"  "  Ashitha  and  Lezan,  361,  362. 

"  "  Tehoma,364. 

Medical  practice,  64-66,  148, 188,  339. 

Melek  Taus,  218. 

Merrick,  Rev.  J.  L.,  S7. 

"  "       "     letters  to,  63, 99, 100, 118. 

Micha  el  Nakkai-.  —  Early  life  of,  204.  Is 
connected  with  the  mission,  214,  215.  Re- 
ligious history,  369, 409,  410.  Put  to  the 
test  by  Mr.  Badger,  370.  Letters  of,  407-410. 

Mill  in  Tyary,  258. 

Mineral  springs,  236. 

Missionaries,  how  made,  32. 

Missions,  Nestorian,  48-53. 

Mitchell,  Rev.  C.  C,  embarkation  of,  167. 
Sickness  and  death,  195-193. 

Mitchell,  Mrs.,  sickness  and  death  of,  199- 
200. 


INDEX 


417 


Jlob,  Nestorijin,  315. 

Monopolies  in  Mosul,  208,  209. 

Mosul,  201,  202,  206-213. 

Mother  of  Dr.  Grant,  14,  15,  10.  — Lt  iters  to, 

28,  73,  76, 15G,  391. 
Mountains,  reasons  for  mission  in,  89. 
Mountaineers,  character  of,  129. 
Mud  houses,  289. 
Murder,  Kurdish,  237. 

Nazee,  l-iO. 

Nestorians,  origin  of  church,  47. 

"  I'eligious  character  of,  56, 60,  61. 

Night  j4  uuey  in  Berwer,  193. 
Night  among  the  mountains,  241. 
Nineveh,  119. 
Nomad  Eirds,  226,  234. 

Oppression,  207-211. 

"  in  mountains,  35S. 

Oniaments  of  women,  276. 

Oroomiah.  —  Scenery  of,  59,  60.  Magi  in,  60. 
As  missionary  station,  61.  Arrival  at,  62, 
63.     Visit  to,  227-229.     Lake  of,  229. 

Papists  in  Ashitha,  269. 

Pasha,  jMohammed,  of  Mosul.  —  Desire  to 
subdue  the  Nestorians,  105.  Yigor  of  his 
administration,  114,  116,  206,  207.  Early 
history,  206.  His  rapacity,  208-209.  His 
severity,  212.  Plots  the  assassination  of 
Dr.  Grant,  281.  His  intrigues  with  the 
Nestorians,  321,  358.  His  death,  382. 
His  successors,  209-211. 

Patriarchate,  Nestorian,  49,  54,  55. 

Patriarch,  relations  to  Kurds,  104, 105. 

Peace-making,  189,  243. 

Perkins,  J.,  D.D.  —Letter  from,  72,  399,  400. 
Letters  to,  38,  117. 

Physicians,  missionary,  67-73. 

Pillar  nea»'  Sidek,  225. 

34*= 


Plague  at  Mosul,  212,  213. 
Politics  of  Kurdistan,  104. 

"        "  Nestorians,  255,  258. 
Polygamy,  275,  294. 
Population  of  mountains,  364. 
Poverty,  297,  299. 

"         of  Nestorians,  355. 
E*i-ecautions  in  travelling,  148. 
Proposition  of  Dr.  Grant,  367. 
Providence,  missionary,  204,  377. 

Rakam,  101. 
Ravandflz,  221,  224. 

"  Bey  of,  221,  222. 

Reading,  habits  of,  15. 
Reception  in  mountains,  133. 
Refugees,  Nestorian,  384-386. 
Reminiscence,  170. 
Responsibility,  81. 
Riach,  Dr.,  44, 107,  165. 

"        "       letter  of,  91,  92. 
Rich,  C.  J.,  Esq.,  103. 
Roads,  42. 

"      mountain,  144,  145,  248. 
Rubbers,  Kurdish,  276. 
Routine,  daily  of  Kurdish  chief,  339. 
Rum,  New  England,  44. 

Sabbath  in  Tyary,  136. 

Saladiu,  103. 

Salmas,  149,  158. 

Sanum,  address  of,  401-403. 

Sapnah,  296. 

Scho  'Is,  Nestorian,  aticient,  56. 

Scenery  along  the  Zab,  143,  272. 

Schultz,  93,  163. 

Serspidho,  354,  355. 

Shakh, 341. 

Shaw,  Rev.  J.  B.,  24,  102. 

Sheep,  milk  of,  184. 


418 


INDEX. 


Sheikh,  Adi,  292. 
Shell,  Col.,  90,  91,  105. 

"        "        his  account  of  Jezira,3ol. 
Sickness,  last,  of  Dr.  Grant,  392-397. 
Sidek,  22i. 

Sister,  letters  to,  29,  76,  77. 
Smith,  Kev.  A.  — His  narrow  escape,  247. 

His  impressions  of  the   mountains,   355. 

Statistics  of  Nestorians,  364, 365.    Journey 

to  Mosul,  386.     Character,  387.     Conipar 

ison  between    him  and   Dr.    Grant,  388 

Usefulness  in  Aintab,  68,  389. 
Social  life  in  the  mountains,  317,  330. 
Sons,  letters  to,  78-80,  154,  157,  390,  393. 
Spies,  Kiirdish,  314. 
Stocking,  Rev.  W.  II.,  227.  —  Letters  to,  95. 

159,  164,  179,  215,  278. 
Suleiman  Bey,   104,   160,  161. 

"  "        his  death,  411. 

Sunday-school,  Dr.  Grant  in,  22,  75. 
Sunless  winter,  272. 
Superstition  of  Nestorians,  183. 
Synagogues  of  Amadia,  299. 

Tall,  district  of,  2.39,  240. 
Tamerlane,  54, 102. 
Tartars,  52, 53. 
Tehoma,  185,  364,  365. 
Telegraph,  mountain,  242. 
Temperance  among  Kurds,  238. 
Temple,  Rev.  D.,  36. 
Tent,  Kurdish,  102. 
Tcrwanish,  301. 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  262. 
Tigris,  the,  115, 116,  288. 
Tortures  of  Nestorians,  362,  363. 


Travelling  in.  mountains,  239,  248,  253,  262, 

305. 
Travelling  hi  the  East,  173. 
Treachery  of  guides,  178, 192. 
Trebizoud,  41. 

Usefulness,  posthumous,  of  Dr.  Grant,  398, 

399. 
Ushnei,  226. 
Utica,  life  in,  20-23. 

Van,  town  and  lake,  164,  176,  177. 

Wages  in  Tyary,  269,  270. 

Waly  Khan,  230. 

Weather  in  Ashitha,  307. 

Williams,  Rev.  W.  F.,  411. 

AVine  in  tJie  mountains,  186. 

Winter  without  sun,  272. 

Woman  as  a  missionary,  30,  31. 

Women  in  Tyary,  134.  —  Able  to  read,  139, 

231.     Kurdish,  275.     In  Mosul,  294. 
Wright,  Dr.  A.  H.,  1-65.  —Letter  from,  227, 

401.    Letters  to,  165, 190,  213, 

Xenophon,  102,  107,  332. 

Yahya  Khan,  91, 101, 106,  228,  232. 
Yezidees,  119,  120. 

Zab,  or  Zawa,  127,  128. 
"    Scenery  of,  143,  272. 
Zacho,  327. 
Zarny,  262,  301. 

Zeiner  Bey,  277,  325.  —  In  Ashitha,  360,  362. 
Zozan,  137,  243,  255. 


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